Dustin Yellin is a Brooklyn-based contemporary artist known for his richly layered storytelling that explores the intricate relationship between nature, technology, and the human condition. Born in 1975 in California, Yellin lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Working across mediums—including painting, sculpture, animation, and institutional collaboration—Yellin creates immersive, thought-provoking works that reveal the hidden networks connecting all living things.
Internationally recognized for his groundbreaking glass sculptures, Yellin embeds layered imagery and paint within laminated glass to create visually complex, three-dimensional collages. These pieces function as modern-day pictographic allegories, inviting viewers to navigate the depths of personal consciousness and the broader societal structures we inhabit. His distinctive technique blurs the lines between art and science, imagination and reality.
Yellin’s iconic glass works are composed of images clipped from print media and embedded within stacked sheets of laminated glass. These monumental compositions act as modern allegories, inviting viewers to explore their own consciousness and the shared emotional and structural networks that shape our world. Through this expansive visual language, Yellin blurs the boundaries between disciplines, proposing a more integrated, holistic way of seeing and being.
A true multidisciplinary artist, Yellin’s work transcends conventional boundaries. He is the Founder and Director of Pioneer Works, a cultural institution in Brooklyn that fosters cross-disciplinary dialogue through art, science, and education. His creative practice merges poetic expression with social purpose, offering new perspectives on interconnectedness and collective transformation.
Dustin Yellin’s art has been exhibited in major institutions worldwide, including the Brooklyn Museum, NY, US; Leeum Museum, Seoul, South Korea; Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; Museo Del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico; SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA, US; The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., US; and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY, US; among many others. His work has been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, Artforum, Vanity Fair, and TED. He holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Artist CV
SOCIAL SCULPTURE
2012-Present - Founder, Pioneer Works, 501 c(3) non-profit cultural center in Brooklyn, NY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 - If a bird’s nest is nature, what is a house?, Almine Rech, New York, NY
2024 - Ruins of the Painted Day, The Little House, Dries van Noten, Los Angeles, CA
2023 - Spooky Portal, Artivist, Seoul, South Korea
- Cave Painting, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, NY
- Politics of Eternity, Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, NJ
2021 - Procession, Tribeca Festival, New York, NY
2016 - 10 Parts, Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015 - Psychogeographies, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
- Psychogeographies, The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
- The Triptych, Sotheby’s S|2 Gallery, New York, NY
2014 - $50K, Two Parachutes, & A Crab’s Suit, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
- The Triptych, Savannah College of Art and Design Museum, Savannah, GA
2013 - Investigations of a Dog, Half Gallery, New York, NY
2011 - Osiris on the Table, 20 Hoxton Square, London, England
2010 - Night Shades, Vito Schnabel, Milan, Italy
- Eden Disorder, Samuel Freeman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 - Dust in the Brain Attic, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY
2008 - Unnatural Selections, Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Permutations, Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 - Suspended Animations, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY
2005 - Dustin Yellin, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY
2002 - Previous Works, James Fuentes Project Space, New York, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 - Explorers, Paggi House, Austin TX
2022 - Cartography of the Mind, Christie’s, New York, NY
- Navel of the World, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, FL
2021 - The Fisher Dollhouse, Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
- Human, 7 Questions, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul
- The Garden of Earthly Delights, Matadero Centre for Contemporary Creation, Madrid
2020 - Harper’s Bazaar: Premier magazine de mode, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
- Incidental Monuments: Designing with Discards, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
2019 - Apma, Chapter 1, Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul
- New Glass Now, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
- Glasstress, Fondazione Berengo, Venice, Italy
2018 - HÍBRIDOS, Museo Del Palacio de Bellas Artes, México City
- Immigrant Artists & the American West, Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, WA
- Natural Wonders, Brandywine River Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, PA
- Scale: Possibilities of Perspective, The Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, NY
2017 - Glasstress, Fondazione Berengo, Venice, Italy
- Singular Object, 53W53 Gallery, New York, NY
2016 - Group Exhibition 10th Anniversary Show, James Fuentes, New York, NY
- I, Cyborg, Gazelli Art House, London, England
2015 - The Rabbit Hole, Sharon Arts Center, Sharon, CT
2014 - Hot Chicks, The Hole, New York, NY
- Environmental Impact, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu, CA
2013 - Come Together: Surviving Sandy, Year 1, Industry City, Brooklyn, NY
- Jew York, Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, NY
2012 - Harderer. Betterer. Fasterer. Strongerer., Bruce High Quality Foundation, New York
2010 - Conversations II, Travesía Cuatro Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2009 - One From Here, Guild & Greyshkul, New York, NY
- Without Walls, Museum 52, New York, NY
- Among the Trees, New Jersey Center of Visual Arts, Summit, NJ
2008 - Geometry As Image, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY
2007 - Conversations I, Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain
2006 - Earth and Other Things: Dustin Yellin & Johanna St. Clair, Lincart, San Francisco, CA
- Black and Blue, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY
2005 - Landings, Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, NY
- Ten Times the Space Between Night and Day, Guild & Greyshkul Gallery, New York, NY
- Nostalgia, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY
ART IN PUBLIC SPACES
2023 - Emergence, permanent outdoor public artwork for The Well, Toronto, Canada.
2018 - Four Psychogeographies permanently installed at the Palms Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
2018-2020 - Longhouse Reserve outdoor sculpture park, East Hampton, NY.
2015 - Six Psychogeographies permanently installed on Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS CURATED
2020 - LJ Roberts: Vantasy Vehicle Vessel Verqshop, SPRING/BREAK, New York, NY
2019 - Nicholas Oh: Who Is Dave Kim the Potter, SPRING/BREAK, New York, NY
2018 - Nate Lewis: Latent Tension, SPRING/BREAK, New York, NY
- Onyedike Chuke, SPRING/BREAK, New York, NY
2017 - Desiree Kong - Mentors, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York, NY
2015 - The Riches of God’s Love unto the Vessels of Mercy, SPRING/BREAK, New York, NY
2014 - Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York, Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, NY
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Brooklyn Museum, New York
City Museum, St. Louis, MO
The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
Colección SOLO, Madrid
Lowe Museum, Miami, FL
Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
Wiseman Collection, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
MONOGRAPHS & EXHIBITION CATALOGS
Dustin Yellin: Heavy Water. New York: Rizzoli, 2015.
Dustin Yellin: Cave Painting. Venus Over Manhattan, New York, 2023.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2022 - Brara, Noor. “Art School Confidential” The New York Times Style Magazine (7/6/22)
- Friedman, Gabe. “Brooklyn’s 50 Most Fascinating People: Dustin Yellin, Artist and Founder, Pioneer Works” Brooklyn Magazine (Summer 2022)
- Friedman, Gabe. “Pioneers at Work”* Brooklyn Magazine* (9/22/22)
- Sheets, Hilarie. “After Ten Years, Pioneer Works Embraces Its Amorphous, Trans-Disciplinary Spirit, Where Art Meets Science” ArtNews (11/8/22)
2021 - Williams, Kaya. “At Aspen Ideas Fest, artist Dustin Yellin considers a crisis of imagination.” The Aspen Times (6/30/21)
2019 - Kamping-Carder, Leigh. “Dustin Yellin Tackles Climate Change With Oil Tanker Tipped Vertically.” Wall Street Journal (5/20/19)
- Cox, Rob. “Imagine the end of the oil supertanker era.” Reuters (5/19/19)
2018 - Stiles, Kara. “Pioneer Works: An Artists’ Space Blending Brilliance And Community.” Forbes (11/18)
2017 - Noey, Christopher & Campbell, Thomas P. “The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look At Art”. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art & Phaidon, 2017.
- Williams, Gilda. “Dustin Yellin.” Artforum (March 2017)
2016 - Black, Matt. “Reflections”. New York: Assouline, 2016.
- Vanderstukken, Koen. “Glass Book”. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2016.
- Kaplan, Isaac. “Dustin Yellin Imagines a World Wrecked by Climate Change.” Artsy (12/19/16)
2015 - Collins, Amy Fine. “Inside Artist Dustin Yellin’s Brooklyn Factory of Delights.” Vanity Fair (September 2015)
- Brooks, David. “Dustin Yellin’s Modern Community-Building.” The New York Times (7/21/15)
- Dingfelder, Sadie. “A dozen dancers trapped in glass: Dustin Yellin’s installation at the Kennedy Center.” The Washington Post (4/9/15)
- Vankin, Deborah. “Dustin Yellin adds his mark in L.A. with art that’s a ‘missile for social change.” Los Angeles Times (10/14/15)
2014 - Bernstein, Jacob. “Dustin Yellin: Opening Doors, Opening Eyes.” New York Times (3/9/14)
SELECTED TALKS
2022 - “Pioneer Works: Perspectives on a Changing Earth”, Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles, CA.
2021 - “Sustainability in the spheres of fashion, food and art”, United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, Scotland
2021 - “Civilization as a sculpture”, Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen, CO
2020 - “Dustin Yellin on Making Art, Weaving Madness, and Forging Your Own Path” The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast).
2018 - “How heavy is a light year?” Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics Conference: New York.
2015 - “Why I think inside the box.” TED: Vancouver.
2014 - “A journey through the mind of an artist.” TEDx: New York.
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS
2018 - Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)
2018 - Honoree, Longhouse Reserve, East Hampton, NY
2014 - Nelson Mandela Community Activist Award, New York City Clergy Roundtable