Paul Yates

Paul Yates (b.1954) Poet, Painter and Film-Maker. Yates was born in Belfast and began writing and painting from an early age encouraged by his then high school teacher, artist Jack Pakenham. His first solo exhibition was held at the Tom Caldwell Gallery in 1972 when he was just eighteen years old. His first London exhibition was held the ICA in 1976. His first collection of poems and drawings, A WHITE CAT WITH A HUMAN FACE was published in 1974. In 1976 his collection of poems and drawings condemning the Northern Ireland Troubles, SKY MADE OF STONE, received international critical acclaim and was tranlslated into Russian, Danish and French. Several volumes of poems have been published since, most recently, MOURNE, a major collection with images by Basil Blackshaw, published by the Tom Caldwell Gallery, one of a number of successful collaborations between both artists.

Yates' film works have won various international awards and most recently his highly praised film, MASTER OF THE CANVAS, a collaboration with Pop painter Peter Blake, was screened as part of Tate Britain's ART IN THE 60'S season and chosen along with Martin Scorcese's NO DIRECTION HOME, to represent thirty years of film documentary excellence by cult BBC 2 arts series, ARENA.

Among his commissions Yates has produced a suite of video art works for the Manako Corporation, Japan, and paintings for Kings College, Cambridge. His books, paintings and video art works feature in discerning collections from Tokyo to Dalkey, Manhattan to Marbella. Nowadays Yates divide his timebetween studios in Spain and Ireland.

I MUST NOT WRITE POETRY IN CLASS, new paintings by Paul Yates will go on show at the Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast in November 2007. Yates’ Selected Poems 1967 – 2007 will also be published in November 2007.

'The Last Outsider’ a monograph on the works of Paul Yates will be published in 2008.

‘ And then the moon, but no, it didn’t…, again.’