Troy Aiken Exhibits “Material Decadence” at Quigley Gallery

Quigley Art Gallery at Clarke University will feature the work of Clarke Assistant Professor of Art Troy Aiken from Saturday, September 30 – November 10, 2023. A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, September 30 from 2:30-4:00 p.m. as part of the university’s Homecoming celebrations. 

A native of Los Angeles, California, Aiken received a BFA degree in Ceramics from California State University of Long Beach in 2012 and an MFA degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2016. Aiken joined the Clarke Art + Design faculty in fall 2022 and previously taught at the University of Notre Dame, St. Louis Community College Forest Park, and Vincennes University. 

The Quigley Gallery exhibition includes ten ceramic vessels that range from one to seven feet in height. Troy’s current studio research looks at practices of acceptable common social structures and the impact of social influence on society today. His vessel structures act as personifications of human beings representing some of the change, hardship, trauma, and perseverance that people experience on a day-to-day basis.  

The structures are meant to serve as a commentary on narratives and first-hand experiences that he has gathered from multiple sources within the last few years that touch on ideas such as body image and enhancement, self-esteem issues, fragility, and collective anxiety in the wake of a global pandemic. A new, experimental way of building the ceramic forms allows him freedom to explore and continue to contribute, as well as push the boundaries of the contemporary ceramic visual language that the work embodies. 

Troy’s work, Virtuous Vessel, 2022 is on view at the Dubuque Museum of Art’s 10th Biennial Exhibition through October 8. He has previously exhibited across the United States and Europe, including the TAG Gallery in Los Angeles, California, the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, England, and the Gallery Aqui Sam Bien in Vallauris, France.  

The exhibition will be open for viewing each week on Monday–Friday from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., as well as 1–4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free.