About.

Hello, I’m Yera!

Originating in Atlanta and shaped by creative life along the East Coast, I am a visual artist and scenic designer, based in Brooklyn (design work here). My work explores realistic and surrealist portraiture as a means of representing Black figures beyond the one-dimensional narratives often imposed by society—where Black lives are most important when they are centered in suffering and pain.

Through staged portraits set in bright, bold voids and intimate scenes of playful dream-like life, I create spaces where Black individuals can detach from these constraints and appear regal, sensitive, resilient, and fully expressive. These figures, rendered with careful detail, at times slip into surrealistic touches to explore the hopeful and dream-like nature that we can opt into to widen our perspective of the black experiences.

As a proud Black creative and graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, I’ve had the privilege of expanding my artistry through the Kenan Fellowship at the Kennedy Center. Whether in theater, film, live events, or studio and gallery installations, my work is driven by depth, detail, and a dedication to stories—especially ones that deserve to be told from celebrating the Black community.

I want viewers to feel uplifted, connected, hopeful, and seen. They are invited into these little pocket worlds of identity to reconsider and connect deeper to their perceptions of Black life and culture. In each piece, I aim to craft visions of the present and future that honor the dignity, creativity, and brilliance of Black people.

“The best reason to paint is there is not reason to paint”

-Keith Haring