Featured in Philly Style Magazine and CBS Philly online in April 2024, Wendee Yudis is a Painter/Printmaker whose mixed media paintings/silkscreens have been exhibited in solo and group shows in galleries in NYC, Chicago, and Philadelphia since the mid-1990’s. Solo exhibitions include James Oliver Gallery in Phila, HMVC Gallery New York-Times Square, Ceres Gallery in NYC, Black Moth Gallery in Phila, and Gallery 1633 in Chicago. A selection of group exhibitions includes The Albright/Knox Museum in NY, Manhattan Graphics Center in NYC, Philadelphia Art Alliance in PA, James Oliver Gallery in Phila, PA, University of Pennsylvania: Penn Medicine in PA & NJ, CFEVA in PA, InLiquid in PA, DaVinci Art Alliance in PA, and The Trenton Museum in NJ. Select work was in a national juried competition in the Pheonix Gallery in NYC by Thelma Golden, then curator of Whitney Museum of American Art.
Wendee Yudis received an MFA in Printmaking and Painting from Pratt Institute and BFA in Printmaking and Photography from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also studied archaeology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and photography at Richmond College in London.
In addition to being a visual artist, Wendee works as a Web Designer and Art Director. Since the mid 1990's she has worked as a Graphic Designer & Art Director for advertising agencies and non-profits in NYC and Philadelphia.
View Wendee's 2024 solo-exhibition, Untamed, at James Oliver Gallery here.
WENDEE YUDIS
"My art turns the definition of femininity on its head.
It tackles unconscious gender bias, sexuality, objectification of women, and body image. I question traditional women’s roles in the world as dictated by social constructs: the ones imposed upon us – obedient child, wife, and daughter – and the ones we step into voluntarily – boss, lover, and vixen.
Womanhood cannot and should not be confined to one definition. Why do we have to be vixens or victims? Can we be both? My work explores the paradox of the powerful vs. the powerless in a manner that is both playful and sexual. The women in my work become icons who reoccur in different contexts and combinations layered in each piece with nuance. I examine words associated with masculinity and femininity as I play with typography and context. For example, why is a bossy man synonymous with executive leadership while a bossy woman is a bitch?
Combining cultural references and humor with narratives, my work serves as a commentary on societal expectations while celebrating the freedom and power of every woman to question and reshape these norms.
My primary medium is a combination of photo-silkscreen, painting, and spray paint. Silkscreen allows me to juxtapose and overlap a variety of images to create new definitions of old ideas, creating visual narratives. I use the actual silkscreen as if it’s a paintbrush, so each piece is an original. The beauty of the silkscreen process is that it allows me to experiment with translucency, opacity, layering and pattern to explore relationships seen and unseen."
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