ABOUT
BIO
Yetunde Rodriguez is a Nigerian-American Printmaker, Multi-media Artist and Art Educator. Her work incorporates Afrofuturistic themes, dream sequences, and vivid imagination, all wrapped in rich color, pattern and detail.
Yetunde holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design from Hampton University (Go Pirates!)
Yetunde makes art in her home studio on the West-Side of Dayton, Ohio. Her work often unfolds and reveals itself in layers. She aims to keep disappearing down rabbit holes, staying open to new ideas, and always seeking the creative solution.
STATEMENT:
My identity, forged between a Nigerian heritage and an American upbringing, exists in the permeable space between two worlds and two ways of being. This constant negotiation and adaptation compel me to seek grounding in the logic and familiarity of patterns, both visible and intuitive.
My process is a fluid, rhythmic cycle of exchange of methods. This process often begins with the creation of hand-carved stamps I use for block printing on fabric. The printed scraps are then sometimes incorporated into my paintings, creating a material dialogue between textile and canvas. The physical act of carving the stamp directly informs my highly textured and tactile carved paintings, whereby I carve my image into the surface of the substrate prior to painting. This cycle of exchange in my work allows me the opportunity to explore, while seamlessly incorporating prior knowledge.
Ultimately, my layered use of color, pattern, and texture serves as an invitation to the viewer to look beyond the surface of the recognizable pattern and prompt a shift in perspective, revealing the complexity and confluence of knowledge that lies beneath.
