Debra Yates

Growing up in Key West gave Debra Yates a quintessential perspective on art. The island, known for its artistic freedom and historic preservation, has long been a haven for emerging and established artists. In addition to graduate work in Italy, Yates often traveled to Brazil to visit her mentor, Brazilian artist and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx. She is known for her striking mixed media paintings and mosaics. She has had many large-scale commissions: Neiman Marcus at Millennium Mall in Orlando, Florida; the 135-foot mosaic-tile wall in Miami Beach; and the 100-foot multimedia wall at Miami International Airport. Her mosaics, paintings and design work have been published in books and magazines and has garnered major awards such as the 2000 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship and the 2002 Rodel Foundation Fellowship to Vermont Studio Center.

Yates uses diverse materials to construct assemblages of both primitive and modern elements. She draws inspiration from the merging of different cultural backgrounds, finding compositional balance through a strong sense of color and shape. The black bamboo series she started in 2005 uses pieces from her garden in Key West, where her paintings are exhibited at Lucky Street Gallery.

The October 19, 2011 New York Times Home section features a residential project designed by Debra Yates, A Key West House Built by a Storm,

Artist's website.

Artist's Works