Artist Statement:
Working primarily in ceramics and printmaking, my art investigates the complex intersections of consumer culture, identity, and societal expectations. Through the use of slip-casting and screenprinting glaze, I create ceramic replicas of consumer goods—fireworks, beer bottles, T-shirts—embellished with custom-designed labels that draw from personal experience. These objects serve as both a mirror and critique of the role I occupy within capitalist systems. My process mimics industrial production, beginning with designing logos and graphics, which are screenprinted onto ceramic surfaces or transformed into decals. The finished pieces are often arranged to resemble discarded remnants, meticulously crafted in ceramic and glaze. This contrast between material permanence and cultural disposability speaks to the fleeting nature of desire and the persistent cycle of lack that follows temporary satisfaction. The reproducible nature of screenprinting and slip-casting allows me to emphasize repetition, a key strategy in expressing the futility inherent in desire. While my work critiques capitalist obsolescence and the commodification of identity, it is also a personal reflection. I find nostalgia in reconstructing these objects and moments as an effort to appreciate the present even as it slips into the past.
Artist Biography:
Byron Ashley is a Ceramist from Topeka, KS. He graduated from Kansas State University with a B.F.A. in studio art in 2019. In 2025, Byron completed his M.F.A. in studio art from Texas Tech University. His work features ceramic objects of discarded products and screen printed labeling. Recently Byron completed an artist residency with Chautauqua Institute and will complete a short term residency with Red Lodge Clay Center at the end of this year. His work has been recently featured in the exhibitions CraftTexas 2025, Clay: A Southern Census and MARFA Invitational.