BIO

Yona Verwer viewing an embedded video in her painting on a wall with her iPad. She is wearing a wide-brimmed striped hat and glasses, standing near a window with green trees visible outside.

Using the iPad to view the embedded video in the History, Heritage and the Lower East Side series.

Yona Verwer is a Dutch-born visual artist and curator based in New York City.

Her art explores themes of heritage, immigration, ecology, and spirituality, often connecting historical narratives with contemporary issues such as ocean pollution and cultural intersections. Verwer creates layered paintings that sometimes incorporate interactive elements, blending traditional techniques with contemporary themes and technology. Occasional works feature AR videos that viewers can activate to experience additional dimensions.

Her work has been showcased in over 35 museum exhibitions worldwide, including the Vienna Jewish Museum, Heller Museum (NYC), Reginald Lewis Museum of African American History & Culture, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. It is in private and public collections worldwide, such as the Mizel Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art.

Her art has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Art Criticism, and The Huffington Post. She is also featured in books including Matthew Baigell’s Heritage: Jewish Artists in America Since 1900, as well as Ori Soltes’ Tradition and Transformation: Three Millennia of Jewish Art.

Verwer holds an MFA from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Netherlands.