Yura Adams

Artist Statement

My work is inspired by the natural landscapes surrounding my studio. Each piece reflects my perception of nature, developed through a stream-of-consciousness approach. I work intuitively, embracing the freedom to invent form. I am very interested in coming up with something that has not existed before, and in that pursuit, I use a lot of mediums and frequently include photography deeply camouflaged in the work. Visually, the works explore movement, compositional balance, and color expression. Personal themes—memory, loss, mystery, beauty, and humor—emerge throughout the creative process. The imagery is of abstracted forms, totem-like in their loose relationship to figuration. I make my work out of a desire and drive to decipher what is mysterious and fascinating to me in the world I encounter. Making art reveals thought, discovery and process and its satisfying engagement keeps me in the studio to find out what else will happen there.

Forest Walker acrylic, ink, fabric, mylar 102x66.5 inches first shown at Woodstock Art Museum Jan, 2026

Bio

In the work world of Yura Adams, weeds have become native plants, bugs have become insects, birds have become much more interesting and weather is something to watch carefully and her art communicates her relationship with the act of observing. She was fortunate to land in the Bay Area and the Lower East Side in her beginnings and today lives and works on a farm in Western Massachusetts where nature feeds her and her work. Her most recent solo show was at Olympia in New York May 2025, and she is preparing for a solo at the Woodstock Art Museum January 2026. Her awards include Tree of Life Foundation, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Peter S. Reed Foundation, Drawing Center Viewing Program, Berkshire Taconic Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts and New York Foundation for the Arts Mark Program, and National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grant.

www.yuraadams.com