In Sculptures and Drawings, Artist Yaren Yıldız Makes an Impact

Interdisciplinary artist Yaren Yıldız pictured walking through her MFA thesis exhibition at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2026. Photograph by Andrew Kepinski, courtesy of the artist.

During a May exhibition highlighting 2026 MFA candidates at the University of Massachusetts’ Dartmouth campus, the work of interdisciplinary artist Yaren Yıldız stood out. In abstract forms constructed from delicate coils of clay and in drawings executed in ballpoint pen, Yaren captures an aesthetic sensibility that is bodily and energetic. In her artworks tonalities shift and merge, disappearing and reappearing in ways that require the viewer to look closely and thereby develop a rich connection with each object. An individual of remarkable talent and vision, Yaren is an artist to know.

Originally from Türkiye, Yaren earned her undergraduate degree from Bilkent University in Ankara where she was Valedictorian of the Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture. While a student, she was also a Guest Artist at the Berlin Art Institute. In 2026 she earned her MFA from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and is now a Foundation Seminar lecturer at UMass.

Yaren Yıldız, Untitled, from the Series of “Internal States Without External Lines”, 2025, ballpoint pen on paper, 9” x 12”. Image courtesy of the artist.

Yaren has a facile hand in both two and three dimensions. In addition to her work as a ceramic sculptor, she has a rich drawing practice that results in fluid and lyrical imagery. When asked how these two artforms interact with one another Yaren explains, “Drawing is never simply a sketch or preparation for a sculpture in my practice. The relationship moves constantly back and forth: sometimes I begin building a sculpture, stop and wrap it in plastic, and return to my drawings to search through color, line, and possible forms; other times, something I discover while building in clay sends me back to the paper. In my ballpoint drawings, color and form emerge slowly through accumulated lines and pressure, and I bring that same logic into clay by rolling individual coils through stains and underglazes before I build with them: the more lines accumulate on the paper, the more my coils find structure and direction, and as those colored coils accumulate into a form, the more my drawn lines begin to become forms themselves.”

Yaren has earned accolades for both her works on paper as well as her pursuits in clay. She was selected for the 20th Annual Miniature Exhibition at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia as well as for the 17th Annual International Contemporary Drawing Exhibition at the University of North Carolina Asheville. It is rare to find a maker whose accomplishments so handily bridge the boundaries of discrete media in this way. But it is a testament to Yaren’s talent.

One of Yaren’s sculptures, presented on a thoughtfully design pedestal during her MFA exhibition. Photo by Andrew Kepinski, courtesy of the artist.

A key aim for Yaren is that viewers of her work have a sense-based experience. When asked what she wants viewers to take away from her work, she says, “I always come back to goosebumps, that moment when your body responds to something before your mind has found the language for it. I am not interested in representing the body literally; I want a form to be recognized through sensation, through its folds, openings, density, color, or the feeling that there is an interior we cannot completely access. I hope the viewer feels something first, maybe familiarity, curiosity, discomfort, or simply the desire to move closer, because for me the most exciting encounter with art happens in that brief space before explanation.”

A view of Yaren’s palette illustrates how she creates tonalities in her ceramic coils. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Visceral is one word to describe the experience of interacting with Yaren’s work. Her images and sculptures do achieve the goals she sets for them. They evoke ephemeral and corporeal forms. But they also inspire a real appreciation for the ways in which she constructs them. Careful and expert craft is the foundation here, and it is incredibly impressive.

Yaren is based in Providence and is just at the start of immersing herself in regional artistic communities, to which she will surely contribute as a skilled and thoughtful practitioner. Speaking of her experience of settling in the northeast, she says, “I came to New England from Ankara, Türkiye, for graduate school, and one thing I have learned is how deeply a ceramic practice depends on community. So much happens through shared studios, kilns, material knowledge, conversations, and seeing how other artists think through their own processes, so as a fresh graduate, I am really excited to discover what that community can look like beyond the university. I have already been enjoying studio visits with artists around Providence, learning about practices very different from my own, and I am especially excited about the possibility of these new conversations developing into exchanges and collaborations.”

New artists contribute novel energies to the art community and Yaren brings her personal vision, her passion for making, as well as her connections further afield. A past Fulbright Scholarship Finalist, she recently assisted artist Rebecca Hutchinson with a workshop at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee. Yaren has also exhibited her work in Ankara, Istanbul, and Milan as well as in exhibitions in the United States. Among her other plaudits, Yaren recently received the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center in New York. 

Yaren Yıldız, Untitled, from the Series of “Internal States Without External Lines”, 2025, coil-built Porcelain, underglaze, lava glaze, and mason stain, 18” x 16” x 12.5”. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Asked what is next for her practice, Yaren explains, “I want to continue working at both ends of scale. When I build my larger sculptures, I feel incredibly present and grounded. I am constantly moving around them, and my whole body becomes involved in understanding the form. At the same time, I have become increasingly interested in sculptures that fit into the palm of a hand. There is such a direct connection between the palm and the rest of the body. Sometimes I feel as though these small sculptures are touching my veins. Lately, I have been thinking of my sculptures as bodies turned toward the world. Whether held in the palm or encountered with the whole body, they share that same orientation toward space, touch, and sensation. What changes is not their orientation, but the distance at which the body meets them. I would love to bring these two scales together in the same space.”

Yaren Yıldız at work on one of her ceramic coil sculptures. Photo by Zara Shahi, courtesy of the artist.

It will be exciting to follow Yaren’s career in the coming months and years. She is an emerging talent who has built an impressive and award-winning body of work. Whether in sensuous ceramics or intuitive drawings, Yaren Yıldız is making artworks that have memorable and lasting impact.

Learn more about Yaren Yıldız at her website www.yarenyildiz.com, or by following her on Instagram at @yarenyldz.

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