Yvette L. Cummings is a figurative artist living and working in Conway, SC. Cummings’ work explores the implied power of the gaze; she confronts viewers with messages of conflict as expressed through the viewpoint of a sexual abuse survivor. Through narrative painting and installation, the characters in her work, deconstruct the gaze we place on the female form and the expectations that come with youth and beauty. The imagery presents the delayed, uncontrolled, and repetitive nature of trauma and memory. Cummings is interested in survivor’s self-awareness, fear, regret, anger and the audience’s participation in the gaze.

Cummings received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design and her MFA at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning in 2003. Cummings is currently Assistant Professor of Visual Arts in Painting and Drawing at Coastal Carolina University. Her work can be found in both public and private collections and has been exhibited in multiple group and solo exhibitions throughout the South and Mid-West. Most recently, she was one of 65 artists chosen for The Mint Museum’s Coined in the South Exhibition 2019. She has been featured in the 701 Center for Contemporary Art South Carolina Biennial 2019 and 2015 in Columbia, SC, was the winner of the 2016 701 CCA Prize for artists under 40 in South Carolina, as well as Contemporary South at Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, NC.