Yashua Klos

The work of Chicago-born artist Yashua Klos uses collage construction and innovative printmaking techniques to address issues of identity, race, memory and community in expansive wall installations. In Klos’ multi-layered work, he uses collage as a metaphor for the “fragmentation of African American identity.” Drawing from his childhood growing up with a single mother on Chicago’s South Side, Klos challenges notions of marginalization, black masculinity and urban mythology. Juxtaposing and twisting elements to create imagined three-dimensional spaces, figures and landscapes, Klos’ style is built of fractured impressions and angled perspectives.

In 2000, Klos earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Northern Illinois University. Klos then studied abroad in France, where he investigated Renaissance painting techniques at L'Atelier Neo Medici in 2002. In 2009, Klos earned his MFA from Hunter College. He has shown in a number of exhibitions including Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton NJ, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC, and Dodge Gallery, New York. Klos’ works have been reviewed in the NY Times, and he’s been awarded residencies at Skowhegan, The Vermont Studio Center, and Bemis. Most recently he is the recipient of a 2014 Joan Mitchell Fellowship and a 2015 NYFA grant.