Kyle Yerby: personal Protective

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Artist Statement

These acrylic paintings depict the dark intensity of falling in love through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before Coronavirus arrived in Missouri in 2020, gloves and masks were only used in health care & food service, but not usually in everyday life. Before the pandemic, it was easy to take touch for granted, but now out of fear we shield ourselves from what we crave. The mask has become a controversial image—those who deny the pandemic feel as though they are being silenced, and those who accept the pandemic feel unseen. Because of the mask, communication i s much more difficult and the message is sometimes lost. When we are finally allowed to be near one another, we only half let our guard down: behind plastic shields, cloth masks, and gloves.  

About the Project 

  • Title of Work: personal Protective
  • Medium: Two 15"X30" acrylic paintings on canvas, one 24"X30" acrylic painting on canvas
  • Student's Name: Kyle Yerby
  • Major: Music (Composition)
  • Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2024
  • Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
  • Student's Mentor: Catherine Armbrust
  • Mentor's Department: Visual Studies
  • Art Project ID: 21VADS - 031

Comments

Lisa Scheese

These pieces really made me reflect on how we now experience the world.  It's like our experience of the world has been censored, and I can sense that in your work. 

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Kyle Yerby

Thank you so much! I really try to show how much I prevent myself from being in my art. 

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Abigail Dickinson

Kyle's paintings really resonated with me. To live in the pandemic has been really heartbreaking in so many ways and his paintings did an amazing job depicting this. I love the color scheme he chose for each one, as it added to the ambiance and the message they were trying to send.

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Kyle Yerby

Abby, thank you so much for your comment! Color means so much to me so creating a color palette to match the mood of the piece is always a huge step in my process.

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Carol Dickinson

I sense the anxiety of Kyle’s in his art work. It is something I also feel due to this pandemic. Kyle is a deep thinker, and I loved hearing his explanation for his art. Well

done.

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Kyle Yerby

Thank you for your comment! I do enjoy thinking about things, though I heard once that too much introspection is just as harmful as none at all.

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Dylan

I find these pieces to be an exquisite example of our contemporary difficulties of these trying times. While Kyle is able to easily incorporate these ideas, he is also capable of following recent trends in art with hyper realism. It is clear in his technique that his efforts and intentions are very clear cut to the audience and viewer of the piece. Some may even say that his contemporary juxtapositions reflect modern art pieces through the lens of today's world. 

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Kyle Yerby

I appreciate your comment! I really enjoy mixing conflicting ideas, especially old with new, quiet and loud, and bright with dark.

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Maddy Dickinson

These paintings are not only stunning but they have a beautiful meaning behind them and I feel as if they reflect a personal experience. The details are amazing and it truly shows talent.

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Sophie Disch

I think all of these paintings are very powerful. They don't only potray the superficial challenge of not being able to have close contact with people anymore, but also show the deeper issue of alienation that I believe many have been experiencing. This distance between ourselves and our minds forced us to be alone with ourselves like it has never been before. This seperation is beautifully reflected in the sunflower painting. Many have been able to approach each other more but there is still something that keeps us from really being together. May it just be the presence of the mask or something entirely different. The details in all the paintings are stunning, especially the gloves in the sunflower painting.

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Lauren Marino

The pandemic has taken a big toll on how we all perceive one another. Seeing each other through screens really makes life seem unreal, and the prolonged lack of physical touch is inhuman. Kyle's art reminded me that I am in fact living, and although these are times of intense anxiety, there is light and COLOR at the end of the tunnel. 

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Kyle Yerby

Just in case anyone wanted to know, the titles of the individual paintings are "i may touch him, but i cannot feel" ", and i must scream" and "you know i love you, right?" respectively.

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Benton Kidd

A poignant and insightful set of canvases. Lovely brushwork too. Well done!

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Sarah Humfeld

Kyle, You have done a masterful job of translating experiences and emotions from the time of COVID into your art. I especially like your painting with the sunflower, because it makes me consider larger issues of how modern people interact with nature. It feels like people want to have clean and 'sterile' interactions with the wild world... having beautiful pictures they can post on social media, but not ever having the experience of getting a little dirty or uncomfortable. Do you think that particular image could apply to a broader conversation of 'culture vs nature?'  Thanks for sharing!

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Jim Spain

Thank you Kyle - we were all haunted by the fear of the loneliness created by the pandemic. You capture it beautifully.

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Gary

I was overjoyed to see your work again... I will always look to keep you in my life in some way or some fashion, until you are ready to forgive me. 

The paintings are beautiful

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Deann Simmons

wow! just amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

so articulate.

mesmerizing.

Kyle you have a way of connecting with

people that is not something I have seen before.

<3

mimi

Deann

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Deann Simmons

wow! just amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

so articulate.

mesmerizing.

Kyle you have a way of connecting with

people that is not something I have seen before.

<3

mimi

Reply