Ashley January

Ashley creates contemporary paintings informed by her maternal experience. Due to pregnancy complications that led to her son’s premature birth, her newest body of work continues to address the Black maternal mortality and morbidity crisis in America. Recently, Ashley became the first recipient of the Women’s Caucus for Art, 2022 Emerging Artist Award. Additionally, she was selected as a finalist for the 2022 Artadia Chicago Award. In January 2023, Ashley had the second installment of her solo exhibition, Human | Mother | Black, at Western Illinois University. Most recently, her works were featured in the Unit London | Voices online group exhibition, Naissance / Re-Naissance. Her works were also featured in the London Art Fair Platform curation through Cynthia Corbett Gallery. Additionally, Tufts University School of Medicine's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice, acquired paintings from her series. Her works have been exhibited in numerous venues including, The Young Masters Autumn Exhibition in London, UK; the South Side Community Art Center, Chicago, IL; Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL; SoLA Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA; the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL; Viridian Artists Inc, New York, NY; Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA; Pacific Art Foundation, Newport Beach, CA; and the Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA. Recently, she was featured in the January 2023 issue of Luxe Interiors + Design Chicago magazine. Her paintings have also been featured in the television series, Kings of Napa, on OWN. In 2018, she was selected as a first-place award winner at the Woman Made Gallery’s Midwest Open in Chicago. In 2017, Ashley won the Beverly Bank Best of Show Award at the Beverly Arts Center’s juried competition.

Ashley earned her MFA in Painting from the Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, CA in 2017 and her BS in Communication with an Advertising concentration and Minor in Studio Art from Bradley University, Peoria, IL in 2009. She lives in Chicago with her family while working from home and her studio at Mana Contemporary.

Statement:

I address the Black maternal mortality and morbidity crisis in America through painting and multimedia. Black women are still three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Influenced by my own traumatic pregnancy and survival, the imagery centers the experiences of Black mothers, birthing people, and children who have suffered adverse birth outcomes but challenge the institutional modes in finding solutions. Familial vantage points shift resolution perceptions after experienced birth trauma. Dynamics foster movements in time through figuration and space. Confronting themes through quiet, often heavy motifs, the environments articulate the imposed health effects disproportionately experienced. Continuing the often layered and nuanced conversation surrounding Black maternal health, the images serve as a global call to action for more awareness, research, and the eradication of unnecessary maternal and infant death.

Ashley January Available works 2023