Yahfa Guerra

Yahfa Guerra is a contemporary fine artist who depicts the realm of realism and surrealism as it relates to her self identity as a Caribbean woman. She is a resident of Columbus, Ohio, where she received her BFA at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited in the Franklin Conservatory, the Northland Exposed Armory Show, the Elijah Pierce Gallery, the Columbus College of Art and Designs chroma show. Her work has been displayed in the offices of Mayor Andrew Ginther and the office of Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. Her awards include first in the Northland Exposed Juried show, first in the Columbus Chapter of the Links Art Exhibition and 3rd in the Congressional Art Competition, and the Outstanding Senior of Fine Arts at CCAD. 

My work is homage to my ancestors, my culture, and my native land.  All to deliver the message, we are still here. I find myself estranged from my lineal homeland of the West Indies, in which the culture has a large focus on familial ties. This idea of ancestry involves more than just the past, it's also seen as a guide to your present and future. My art depicts vortexes of color that allude to a sense of oblivion, merging reality with abstract pattern, and interesting texture. Yet in the forefront portraiture remains. It's not enough to create art, you have to take the time to make it intentional. By juxtaposing my culture of Haiti, Trinidad, and the black experience. I am able to provide a new perspective of ancestral honoring through a modern lens. These details become vital to my art process because context informs all stories. The stories of my predecessors are what I wish to tell, yet we live in a society of post erasure. In order to remedy this disconnection my art serves as a vessel to reimagine our people back into history and provide a stage in which their essence is memorialized.

Ohio

United States of America