Yashua Klos - Finding Family - Breakout Artist Finds Father's Family at 42 Artwork

Swan Dive

Swan Dive captures pivotal moments in meaningful lives and features the inspiring stories of people who had the clarity and courage to chase their dreams and visions. Hosts and life-long friends, Ron Rothberg and Stu Sheldon, both made their own swan dives from successful careers in media and finance to the unknowns of content creation and fine art. Through their journeys, both found their true voices and, with Swan Dive Podcast, they dive deep into the big pivots of their myriad guests. From Africa's first black, female neurosurgeon to legendary performing artists, storied sea captains, NPR hosts, National Geographic photographers and so much more, each dynamic guest opens up about the unique emotional trials and the triumphs of becoming their most authentic selves. Wisdom, vulnerability and inspiration abound. Hopefully, you'll find comfort and kinship in your own big pivot, whether you've made it yet or not. Share your Swan Dive story with us and we may feature you. Find us @stuart_sheldon and ronrothberg@comcast.net.

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Swan Dive

Yashua Klos - Finding Family - Breakout Artist Finds Father's Family at 42

October 20, 2020 • Ron Rothberg and Stu Sheldon • Season 3 • Episode 2

Imagine knowing virtually nothing of a father who disappeared, then getting a text at 42 from an unknown cousin saying, "We might be related." Immediately, the generous warmth of a large, loving family replaces the cold emptiness of a son abandoned. For over a decade, visual artist Yashua Klos has employed a unique process of paper construction and woodblock printing to engage ideas about blackness and maleness from his cultural perspective as a native Chicagoan. Now, his practice and life are in fabulous flux, as he surrenders to a sea of love and appreciation engulfing him and aims to mark the legacy of his newly discovered family's migration from the South to working class Detroit. Swan Dive's third guest in our Wide Awakes activation, Yashua's award-winning work has been shown in museums and galleries across the globe, featured in the NYT, and earned him a Joan Mitchell Fellowship and a NYFA grant. He's also Stu's favorite artistic discovery of 2020. Klos is represented by Tilton Gallery in New York and Galerie Anne De Villepoix in Paris.

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We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com