Paul Yanko received a B.F.A. from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1991 and an M.F.A. from Kent State University in 1995. Since 2002, his work has focused on developing a response to abstraction that addresses nuances of color and surface along with the representation of flat and illusionistic space. His paintings on canvas and works on panel are developed systematically through an additive process of layering acrylic paint, collage materials, and various mediums over masked areas. These faceted and densely layered compositions are reflective of a desire to reconcile formal painterly concerns with an interest in creating process-derived imagery. While remaining influenced by emblems of Modernist abstraction, he also takes influence from the characteristically intense hues and contrasting color schemes found in a variety of pop cultural sources extending from commercial signage to comic art and board games.

His work is included in private and public collections including the Cleveland Clinic, The Akron Art Museum, The Greenville County Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Carolina Collection at MUSC in Charleston, SC. He is represented by The George Gallery, Charleston SC, Hampton III Gallery, Greenville, SC and Ann Connelly Fine Art, Baton Rouge, LA. Yanko is based in Greenville, SC where he teaches Painting, Drawing and 2D Design in the Visual Art Department at The South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. He shares a home studio with his wife, Enid Williams, who is also a painter and faculty member at Greenville Technical College.