ARTIST PROFILE
Yvette English
Yvette English is a multidisciplinary artist and writer whose work weaves together themes of self-discovery, resilience, and identity through both language and visual expression. Her creative journey began in 1999, when she first turned to short stories as a way to process lived experiences and explore the deeper layers of the human psyche. Writing quickly became a tool for introspection, healing, and empowerment, an intimate space where she could give voice to complexities that often go unspoken.
Her dedication to storytelling eventually led to the publication of Dakota (2017), a novel that delves into the strength found in vulnerability, personal evolution, and the courage to confront one’s truth. Alongside her writing, Yvette has cultivated a vibrant practice as a visual artist. Her paintings, rich in color, texture, and layered symbolism, act as extensions of her written work—another language through which she expresses emotional depth and inner landscapes. Each piece is influenced by the themes she explores in her storytelling, creating a natural bridge between the visual and literary arts.
Together, her words and paintings form a cohesive body of work that invites viewers and readers into a dialogue about growth, identity, and the transformative power of creative expression.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Downloads
Selected exhibition history (pdf)
Selected bibliography (pdf)
News+ Articles
Featured Series
Set in The Threads Collection emerges from the intersection of story and stillness—each black and white acrylic painting on canvas exists as a standstill movie, capturing the raw emotional narratives that pulse beneath the surface of everyday life. These pieces refuse to whisper when they have something to say. Born from the same creative wellspring as my written work, they translate the unspoken into stark visual language, where contrast becomes conversation and shadow carries as much weight as light. Every brushstroke is deliberate, every composition a frozen moment that invites you to step inside and feel what words alone cannot capture.
The Threads Collection
FACES
Each figure stands as a world unto themselves, unapologetic, textured, and deeply human. These works explore identity not as something fixed, but as a spectrum of contradictions, emotions, and histories carried in color, expression, and pattern. Through bold acrylic strokes and vibrant symbolism, the collection invites viewers to step into three distinct inner landscapes, each telling its own truth while echoing a universal one: we are all many things at once.
Milestones
2025
2024
2022
2017
In 2024, Yvette submission was chosen not only for exhibition but for permanent installation in Penn Medicine's surgical center, where it now offers hope and healing to patients, families, and staff—a testament to the profound emotional impact and therapeutic power of her work.
Yvette presented her inaugural solo exhibition at Urban Art Gallery, unveiling a body of work that reflects her distinctive artistic voice and emotional depth. The exhibition sold out within its first week, marking a significant milestone in her creative journey.
For three consecutive years (2022-current), one of Yvette's artworks has been selected annually for the prestigious Perelman Institute Art Exhibition at Penn Medicine, where each selected piece is displayed for one year.
Yvette English published her debut novel, Dakota, a powerful narrative centered on self-discovery, resilience, and personal transformation.
