Open Air: Artist Talk with Yashua Klos

Open Air is a monthly series of intimate conversations with Black artists across the globe, hosted by the Gantt. Tune in and learn about the work of Yashua Klos, whose solo show, Yashua Klos: Cornerstones, is on view September 11, 2026, through January 22, 2027.

"The heart of my artistic inquiry is an exploration of identity through a blend of memory, history, and cultural narratives. My work explores my relationship to my family, with broader interest in African American migration and labor economies in the midwest. My practice bridges my experiments in woodblock printing with the fluidity of painting and the precision of drawing. This convergence of mediums realize works where woodblock prints become the source material for layered collage, then spray paint, and colored pencil. Recently, the addition of wooden sticks enveloped in Japanese rice paper introduces a bas-relief motif, furthering the implication of three-dimensional space. My practice proposes a new conceptual space to consider notions of identity as both constructed and fractured, self-determined and fragile."

Dexter Wimberly is an American curator based in Japan who has organized exhibitions in galleries and institutions around the world including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, The Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, KOKI Arts in Tokyo, Bode Projects in Berlin, and The Third Line in Dubai. His exhibitions have been reviewed and featured in publications including The New York Times and Artforum; and have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and The Kinkade Family Foundation. Wimberly is a Senior Critic at New York Academy of Art, and the founder and director of the Hayama Artist Residency in Japan. He is also the co-founder and CEO of the online education platform, CreativeStudy.