Ashley Page

Ashley Page (United States, born 1998), Pupa State (detail), 2020, Acrylic yarn, beeswax, and parrafin wax, dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist 

Ashley Page (United States, born 1998), Pupa State (detail), 2020, Acrylic yarn, beeswax, and parrafin wax, dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist 

In her work, Ashley Page explores the vulnerability, grace, and complexities of the Black experience.

She believes art is a vessel used to present larger conversations about representation and visibility of the African American image, intellect, and spirit.

Employing paper, fiber, and steel in her work, she envisions a world where individuals are given the autonomy to represent themselves.

Page shared, “I make work for the black and brown women, children, men, and elders who don’t see themselves represented within local or global conversations surrounding fine art, craft, and cultural impact. A people whose culture, craft, body, and story are exploited and erased; my practice is the vehicle for their stories to be told.” ​ 

In Pupa State, Page uses basketry and fiber-manipulation techniques to create sculptures reminiscent of bodily forms and various lifecycles. A “pupa” is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Page crochets sculptures reflective of this lifecycle that also speak to her artistic pursuits as a maker, a Black woman, a daughter, and a socially conscious human being. In Pupa State, Page weaves together voices, stories, memories, and materials as she rediscovers truths and redefines narratives about the Black female body. Page wrote, “my work is an ode to the people who came before me, a reflection of the time in which I currently reside, and a point of reference for those in the future.”  

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“Ashley Page weaves together multiple threads of history and gives shape to the stories of black and brown people. Her forms honor the ancestors and create potent black visions that point to the future and beauty of people of color.”

- Séan Alonzo Harris, Untitled juror 

EXPLORE MORE ARTWORKS FROM UNTITLED, 2020

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Rachel Church
Rachel Church

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Evelyn Wong
Evelyn Wong

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Charles Schreiber
Charles Schreiber

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veronica a perez
veronica a perez

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Titi de Baccarat
Titi de Baccarat

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Joshua Reiman
Joshua Reiman

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Eleanor Kipping
Eleanor Kipping

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Celeste Henriquez 
Celeste Henriquez 

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Steve Bartlett
Steve Bartlett

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Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams

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Greta Bank
Greta Bank

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Henry Austin
Henry Austin

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Anna Dibble
Anna Dibble

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Deborah Wing-Sproul 
Deborah Wing-Sproul 

Performance artist and sculptor Deborah Wing-Sproul reflects on social, cultural, economic, and political inequities amplified by the events of 2020 in her new work, Meet me at the pool. This performance and sculpture are informed by community lockdowns and isolation as well as the tension between presence and absence. The swimming pool—a place of social exclusivity and a sign of wealth and leisure—is the starting point of investigation.

Christopher Dudley
Christopher Dudley

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Rosamond Gross
Rosamond Gross

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Gregory Jamie
Gregory Jamie

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Enrique Mendía
Enrique Mendía

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Meghan Mitchell
Meghan Mitchell

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Elijah Ober
Elijah Ober

Elijah Ober’s video practice honors small creatures as proxies of encompassing ecosystems and histories. In his work, the artist co-opts, subverts, and reveres the slippery power of digital images to embody themselves and alter our physical and social structures.

Ashley Page
Ashley Page

In her work, Ashley Page explores the vulnerability, grace, and complexities of the Black experience. She believes art is a vessel used to present larger conversations about representation and visibility of the African American image, intellect, and spirit. Employing paper, fiber, and steel in her work, she envisions a world where individuals are given the autonomy to represent themselves.

Julie Poitras Santos
Julie Poitras Santos

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Sally Stanton
Sally Stanton

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Giles Timms
Giles Timms

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ARRT! (Artists’ Rapid Response Team!)
ARRT! (Artists’ Rapid Response Team!)

Artists’ Rapid Response Team! (also known as ARRT!) is a collective of year-round members of the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA). UMVA is dedicated to upholding the dignity of artists, while creating positive social change through the arts.

Graeme Kennedyuntitled artists