Artist Talk with Ashley White

Ashley White Water, Fiber, Form: Stories of Black Hair June 5-28, 2026 “Water, Fiber, Form: Stories of Black Hair” is a mixed-media exhibition that explores the intersections of material, memory, and identity through textiles, ceramics, and collage. Rooted in Black hairstyling traditions, the work reimagines hair as a fiber art, positioning braiding, weaving, and adornment within the lineage of contemporary craft. Water functions as both material and metaphor, shaping form while reflecting transformation, resilience, and continuity. Through large-scale textile installations, woven hair tapestries, and ceramic vessels that hold, anchor, and expand fiber, the exhibition creates a layered environment where structure and movement coexist. Collage works extend this narrative, assembling fragments of image, pattern, and texture into visual stories of cultural memory and self-definition. Together, these works challenge conventional hierarchies of craft and art, honoring the labor, ritual, and innovation embedded in everyday practices while inviting viewers to reconsider what is seen, valued, and preserved.