Color, Clay, and Queerness: Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s Art Blooms Beyond Labels

Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s canvases burst with color, but their real surprise lies in how they blend personal storytelling with bold abstraction. Originally drawn to drama and music, Yearwood-Dan shifted her creative focus to painting after a pivotal audition setback, eventually earning her degree from the University of Brighton. Her works weave together botanical imagery, handwritten text, and lush textures, drawing on themes of Blackness, queerness, femininity, and healing. Rather than centering trauma, she crafts spaces for vulnerability and joy, using lyrics, poetry, and her own reflections as layers within her art. During the 2020 lockdowns, Yearwood-Dan added clay to her repertoire, creating sculptures that now accompany her paintings in immersive exhibitions. Her public mural at Queercircle in London, paired with vibrant seating, highlights her commitment to accessibility and community. With Hauser & Wirth and Marianne Boesky Gallery now co-representing her, Yearwood-Dan’s vision continues to expand, inviting audiences to experience abstraction as a living, inclusive language. #ContemporaryArt #QueerArtists #BlackBritishArt #Culture