Ashley The Creator’s Art Bears Fruit

According to legend — and poet Christina Rossetti — one should never eat fruit offered by fairies. It’s considered illicit, otherworldly, and so good that one taste will leave you hankering for more for the rest of your days. But in her new exhibition, ​“Pomology,” artist Ashley the Creator makes fruit seem more tempting than it’s ever been before. The fae, inhuman faces in her paintings wear fruit as a part of their own bodies, and the effect is both eerie and mouth-wateringly good.

“Pomology” runs now through Aug. 25 at Elles Studios in Erector Square, 315 Peck St. Christina Kane founded Elles Studios ​“to create accessible short term space for imaginations.” The name ​“Pomology” ​“means the study and cultivation of fruit,” explained Ashley the Creator. ​“It has a lot to do with being fruitful within … knowing that we have everything we need from within.”

Her artistic interest in fruit began in 2020 or 2021, when she painted a mango as a person. ​“I was just like, if fruit were a human, it would look kinda cool and alien,” she said.

“Alien” is the perfect word to describe Ashley the Creator’s figures, who appear both unnatural and incredibly natural. ​“Kiwi” depicts a David Bowie-esque figure, with green skin and seeds built into the cheekbones. Like all Ashley the Creator’s paintings, it is vibrant and full of life, with colorful figures set against even more colorful patterns. But the effect is seductive rather than overwhelming.

It’s about ​“cultivating that energy within,” said Ashley. These self-sustainable people express themselves outwardly, and it leads the viewer to wonder what is going on beneath the surface. The anthropomorphized fruits reveal quite a bit about the associations we make as humans about the natural world; and, of course, the kiwi is endlessly cool.

Meanwhile, the strawberry is sweet and a little saucy. The figure in Valentine radiates appeal, sticking out her tongue as if to taste herself. Each of Ashley the Creator’s paintings are full of vivacity and personality, someone you would want to have a conversation with, not just devour.

The pair of grape figures, Grapefully Him and Grapefully Her, feel full of self-confidence. They evoke associations of the Greek god of the vine, Dionysus. In one myth, Dionysus kills a group of sailors attempting to kidnap him by strangling them with vines. The vines radiating from the figure’s hair seem more benign, but there’s a hint of power in their bearing. The titles could be a play on ​“gracefully” or ​“gratefully,” both of which feel apt: these figures are graceful and emit a sense of gratitude and self-fulfillment for their own being.

All of the figures in Ashley the Creator’s paintings have their eyes not only closed, but almost painted over, as if the skin stretches from temple to chin without interruption. ​“The eyes have to do with going within, and the fruit, the skin, is the without part,” she said. The lack of outward view evokes a kind of introspection, as if these creatures, beautiful as they are, have no need to see themselves or anything else. They are focused on their own inner worlds, which manifest as colorful fruit across their skin and hair.

Some of the paintings are also political pieces. Palestine depicts a watermelon man with green hair, red skin, and seeds decorating his face. The background, a checkered yellow, red, and, white, makes it look as if he were reclining on a picnic blanket.

“The people in Palestine weren’t allowed to wave their flags, but they were allowed watermelon, which is the same color as their flags,” said Ashley the Creator. Therefore, she decided to paint a watermelon figure as a tribute to the Palestinian people.

Piño Niño shows a pineapple man, in a particularly creative use of incorporating food into hair. The figure faces away from the viewer, but what is seen of his face expresses a kind of zen calm that can be seen in the faces of all the fruit-figures. The message is clear: a combination of introspection and pride in your outward self-expression leads to peace and harmony.

At an opening event on Saturday, the exhibition also featured an interactive component, in which visitors were able to use Ashley the Creator’s handmade stamps to decorate canvas bags. Curator and photographer Bizzie Ruth took photographs of visitors against a forest-like background. Ashley the Creator used art to help visitors see how the lessons of her fruit people could apply to their own lives, making them bolder, more confident, and more at home in their own skin.

Christina Rossetti warned against taking fruit from goblin men, but she never said anything about artists. And if the fruit in her poetry was anywhere near as lush and appealing as Ashley the Creator’s fruit, one would be hard pressed to resist. In ​“Pomology,” fruit — and art — never tasted sweeter.

“Pomology” runs at Ashley the Creator’s studio in Erector Square, 315 Peck St., through Aug. 25. Contact the artist through her Instagram page for more details.