Mike Yaniro's Debut Solo Exhibition at Room East Blurs Boundaries Between Signage and Art

From November 3 to December 15, 2013, Mike Yaniro presented his first solo exhibition at Room East gallery in New York City. The show featured eleven wall-mounted works that defy easy categorization, existing between drawing, painting, and sculpture. Located at 41 Orchard Street, the exhibition displayed pieces made from unconventional materials like PVC plastic sheeting typically used in sign-making and stretched latex sheets. Four distinct series were presented across two gallery spaces. Upstairs, text-centric works with stenciled word fragments like "URAccato" and "91/151/" appeared alongside graphite drawings of hands and fingers. Two framed works on latex depicted repetitive animal-like forms derived from historical psychotherapy illustrations. Downstairs, four large unframed latex abstractions featured hazy rectangular impressions created through xerox toner transfers from Yaniro's personal archive. The artist's approach challenges conventional communication in art, using industrial materials and fragmented language to create works with latent psychological dimensions. Yaniro's practice draws connections to artists like Jasper Johns and Bruce Nauman through its exploration of symbols, gestures, and breakdowns in communication. The exhibition demonstrated how commercial signage materials could be turned inward to explore personal symbolism rather than public messaging.