vailsymposium

David E. Yust was born April 3, 1939 in Wichita, Kansas. He studied with Birger Sandzén in 1951 and at Wichita State Univ. from 1957-59. He earned a BFA in 1963 from the Univ. of Kansas and a MFA in 1969 from the Univ. of Oregon. He began teaching at Colorado State University in 1965 and is known for his circular-shaped canvases. Yust taught art for 47 years at Colorado State University — mainly drawing and painting. He is now a professor emeritus and is retired from teaching, but not from art.

From Yust: “I lost my Christo and Jeanne-Claude ‘virginity’ working as a monitor on their 1983 Surrounded Islands Project. In Christo’s words – ‘This is my waterlilies . . .’ This intense art experience caused me to think about Surrounded Islands every day for the next two years.  Trips to see and photographically document their California Umbrellas Project and the Rapped Reichstag Project in Berlin followed. In 2005, I spent two weeks helping them to realize their Gates Project in Central Park.  The Christos’ uncompromised idealism toward sharing their passions with our World is unparalleled . . .”