James Moffitt, also known as YAMES, hails from Buffalo and is a co-founder of Pine Apple Company, an artist collective and gallery situated in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood. With a formal education from Pratt Institute, YAMES is a versatile graphic artist skilled in hand-painted signs, typography, illustration, murals, and more.
One can find his creative contributions gracing various establishments in Buffalo, such as Hydraulic Hearth, Sato Brewpub, Larkin Square, and the National Grid’s Terminal Station B. Although this will mark YAMES’s inaugural mural with the Public Art Initiative, he has previously lent a helping hand to numerous other projects under the Initiative’s umbrella.
Back in 2021, YAMES was chosen to participate in Lowe’s centennial mural campaign. Fast forward to this year, and he has been awarded two prestigious grants to further develop his expertise in gold leaf glass signage. The first grant comes from the Andy Warhol Foundation, facilitated by the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art. The second is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, administered through Arts Services Incorporated.