Michaela Yearwood-Dan

Boesky Gallery is pleased to present A Woman of Will, an exhibition of new paintings by Michaela Yearwood-Dan. For her third solo exhibition with the gallery, Yearwood-Dan transforms the gallery into a sanctuary for reimagining the collective practices of love, care, and liberation. A Woman of Will coincides with Yearwood-Dan’s first UK solo institutional exhibition, The Practice of Liberation, which debuted at The Whitworth in Manchester in April and will travel to the Towner in Eastbourne and the Arnolfini in Bristol.

For A Woman of Will, Yearwood-Dan conjures the cool, sacred atmosphere of a cathedral. A suite of 13 small paintings—one for each of Jesus’ apostles, including Mary Magdalene—line the walls of the gallery’s small front room, evoking the intimacy of a side chapel. Throughout the airy gallery, large-scale paintings—lush, gestural abstractions in vivid cobalts, gold, and maroons—evoke sunlight streaming through stained-glass windows. Diaristic meditations and small objects—ceramic petals, glass beads, glitter, gold leaf, paper scraps, and neatly-tied ribbons—adorn the paintings’ surfaces. Small bronze-lustered, hand-built ceramic vases—filled with dried flowers—dot the deep burgundy walls between paintings, the faint floral scent reminiscent of incense. Throughout the space, ornate, ceramic-tiled wood benches—made in collaboration with sculptor and furniture designer Theodore Vass—serve as pews, offering respite for quiet contemplation.