Mikey Yates was born in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in shows in New York, Los Angeles, Marfa, Boston, Sydney, London, Marrakech, Hong Kong, and Seoul. Yates has been awarded two Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grants and has participated in art residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Residency, and the Adventure Painting Residency.