Artist Registry

Iram S. Yeates was born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he currently resides. A self-taught artist, Iram’s only academic training was at the High School of Art and Design, which emphasized training in commercial art. Though this method did not hold much interest for Iram, a self-described ‘fine artist in spirit,’ he would go on to feature in a show in his country of origin, which would change his life. When the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Association sponsored a group exhibition of contemporary Caribbean art in 1990, Iram suddenly found himself in the company of several established artists, most of whose work was based on their Caribbean life style. The vibrancy of Iram’s jazz and dance pieces was acclaimed by the public, and attested to the strength and development of his personally originated discipline. Iram’s art work reflects his passion for jazz and dance, conveying his understanding of jazz as the embodiment of freedom. For him, every social and humanitarian struggle is driven by a vocabulary of notes, chords and melodies. In Iram’s paintings, jazz translates the history of the blues to the masses, recreating the essence of modern music on canvas. His images encapsulate the energy, intent, drama and spirit of dance, immortalizing entire conversations in a single frame. The materials of Iram’s craft reflect an unearthing of jazz as a true American classical form. His paintings always carry a charcoal foundation, a darkness on which he traces sketches in white charcoal into which he works his color.  A pragmatic celebration of black life, Iram’s creations are intended to enrich the lives of all who view them and to encourage the celebration of the importance of artistic expression in daily and public life. His works of love are ebony in every language. “I don't paint pretty colors for the masses; I create beautiful portraits for the individual set against the darkness of live musical performance. My paintings immortalize that vision backstage, in the rehearsal rooms, through windows, and on the set of every night club. The darkness in my paintings is the empty space before each performance; the mirror just before life explodes and the reflection begins.”