Yvonne Kunz was born in Great Falls, Montana, but moved frequently as a military child. This nomadic early life, coupled with her experience as an art educator, has profoundly shaped the narrative of her art by examining the nature of personal connection.
Yvonne received her B.A in Visual Arts from the University of Washington and a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with K-12 Art Education certification from Montana State University. She currently lives and works in Olympia, Washington.
I am an artist and an educator. I like to say that teaching art is what I do, and being an artist is who I am. I predominately work in oil, acrylic, encaustic, and drawing; sometimes print and clay. I play with the materiality and the process of each medium with the unique characteristics of each material encouraging a different approach to the questions addressed in my art.
I appreciate working with the principle of pattern as a relationship between parts. It creates rhythm, movement, and space. This use of pattern is a direct influence of being an art educator to children. Recognizing patterns is one of the first fundamentals that students learn across all content areas. It also plays a role in my artwork and life, as it takes recognizing a pattern of behavior before one can change it.
Experiences in my early life — primarily the nomadic lifestyle of being a military child, feelings of isolation as queer Army vet — and modern phenomena of isolation are the foundation for my exploration of the shadow and the subject of personal relationships. Isolation is a contemporary experience, yet we are more connected than ever. Why is that? Why do we remain alone, together? I use pattern, shadow, and the figure (both implied and depicted) to examine the psychological narrative of (dis)connection.
