Hunt Residencies IX

James Moffitt, aka YAMES (born 1987), is a Buffalo native and co-founder of Pine Apple Company, an artist collective and gallery/gift shop located in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood. Art has been a passion of YAMES’ since a young age, leading him to study at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts and then at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. YAMES has grown into a multidisciplinary graphic artist who specializes in gold leaf, hand-painted signs, typography, illustration, murals, and more.

You can see YAMES’ work on businesses throughout Buffalo, including Hydraulic Hearth, Sato Ramen, Larkin Square, Detailer’s Barbershop and National Grid’s Terminal Station B. In 2020, YAMES completed two mural projects for the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s Public Art Initiative, and assists them on numerous other projects as well. The first mural titled Practice, located in Buffalo’s Cobblestone district, speaks to YAMES’ personal growth as an artist and individual. Throughout the ups and downs in life, it is important to find happiness throughout our experiences. The second mural, Love Black is a collaboration with Edreys Wajed. Edreys developed the concept and art of Love Black Boys in 2017. After the murder of George Floyd, both Edreys and YAMES shared the desire to speak out with their art. So the collaboration of Edreys’ silhouette imagery with YAMES’ lettering was developed, becoming the mural that now stands at 712 Main Street in Buffalo. In 2021 YAMES was selected to take part in the Lowe’s 100th anniversary mural campaign at their Webster, N.Y. store. In 2024, Yames was the recipient of two grants that were used to grow and evolve his practice of gold leaf glass signs. The first grant is from the Andy Warhol Foundation through the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art. The second is from the New York State Council on the Arts through Arts Services Incorporated. These funds were used to host an introduction to sign painting and gold leaf workshops, as well as building his personal art practice. In an effort to showcase this personal aspect of his art practice, YAMES took part in the O+ Festival in Kingston, New York during October of 2024. As his contribution to the annual arts and health festival, YAMES created a new series of text based works in gold leaf and enamel paint on glass. In 2025, Visit Buffalo commissioned Yames to create a series of murals throughout Erie County. You can find his work online at theyames.com or on instagram, @yames_cat.