OPENING NIGHT36 ARTWORKS
⭑⭑
CLEVELAND INSTITUTE
OF ART
JUNIOR VISUAL ARTS
MAJORS
DRAWING
PAINTING
PRINTMAKING
SCULPTURE +
EXPANDED MEDIA
⭑⭑
FREE PARKING
Absolutely
NO attitudes
tolerated
DRESS TO
PARTY
6—9PM
INSTAGRAMRESPECT TO ALL
THE BODS WHO
SUPPORTED
PERMISSION
TO PARTY
YOU KNOW WHO
YOU ARE!
BUSINESS
IN THE FRONT
PARTY
IN THE BACK
©2047 CARGO, INC.
Ash Bayer
Ash Bayer is a painter based in Albany, NY, and a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Their work is based in and influenced by the experience of existing in the body. They are focused on depicting this visceral, sensorial experience, and elevating the lives and identities of AFAB (assigned female at birth,) queer, and trans persons as resistance to the patriarchy.
In their oil paintings, ranging from small to large-scale, they work loosely and expressionistically, exaggerating colors and forms to enhance the emotional quality of the work. Their subject matter is currently split into two distinct modes of depiction that have two separate yet coinciding goals in mind. The more prevalent of the two being sexual and intimate imagery between two AFAB people. In this work, Bayer aims to express their sapphic identity unapologetically. Utilizing cropping and composition, they separate their imagery from that of the male gaze, even when much of the reference material comes from the male-dominated porn industry. The other mode of depiction that Bayer uses is based in medical imagery. This imagery is related to PCOS, a common yet underrepresented hormonal disorder that they live with. The work includes visceral images of ovarian cysts and teratomas, medical diagrams, and medical tools. As someone that has been diagnosed with and has been fairly educated in the disorder, Bayer feels the need to advocate for others with PCOS, and to encourage wider knowledge on the subject.
Bayer’s practice as a whole is focused on empowering underrepresented demographics of people. Through this empowerment, they are actively resisting the system that aims to control and diminish any identity that is not straight, male, and white.