American Versailles: Bethlehem 1 Drawing

Mary Yess received her MFA in painting from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn (NY), where she studied with George McNeil. Yess served on the boards of the Trenton City Museum, the Trenton Arts Commission, and the Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission. Over the course of her career, Yess has participated in numerous exhibits. She is a former member of Muse Gallery in Philadelphia, and her work is included in private and public collections. One of her mixed media paintings was purchased by the Trenton City Museum for its permanent collection. Yess has curated a number of shows throughout NJ, served as a juror for many shows, and was a member of several NJ State Council on the Arts review and public art selection panels. While Executive Director of Artworks, Yess curated or co-curated over a dozen shows of artists from the tri-state area. For over 40 years, I have been drawing and painting old industrial buildings from all over the U.S., but mostly along the NJ Route 1 corridor. I think that these buildings are not only monuments to the creativity and ingenuity of the early industrial period in U.S. history; but that each one of them is aesthetically valuable, a true American Versailles. For the “Oxford Codex” series, I incorporate found objects, such as circuit boards, into the pieces. In addition to these paintings of old factory buildings, I also paint other types of landscapes and still life pieces.