Earth and Blood: Ceramic Works by Josh Perry

Name: Earth and Blood: Ceramic Works by Josh Perry
Start: 2026-02-06T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-06T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 1040 Vernon St, Huntington, WV, United States, West Virginia 25704

Schedule

Fri Feb 06 2026 at 06:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

1040 Vernon St, Huntington, WV, United States, West Virginia 25704 | Huntington, WV

We are so excited to welcome everyone to join us at the West Edge Factory’s Turret Gallery for ceramic artist Josh Perry's first solo exhibition!
Josh’s work uses clay, sculpture, and installation to explore how people are shaped by the systems around them—such as war, belief, disability, and social expectations. His pieces reflect on harm and healing, asking how we carry our past experiences and how change becomes possible. The work is grounded, physical, and honest, inviting viewers to slow down and spend time with each object.
Accessibility and adaptation are central to Perry’s practice, influencing both how the work is made and how it is experienced. His art considers memory, trauma, and resilience without offering easy answers, instead creating space for reflection and conversation.
The opening reception will be held Friday, February 6 from 6–9 PM, with the gallery open for viewing throughout the evening.
The event will also include a poetry reading from 6–7 PM and live music by Sam Eplin.
Light refreshments will be provided.
This event is free and open to the public, and all are welcome.

Artist Bio:
My work reflects both collective failure and the possibility of redemption. As a U.S. Army veteran shaped by injury, addiction, incarceration, and recovery, my creative practice is rooted in lived experience. After serving as a combat engineer and sustaining service-related injuries, I became addicted to prescription medication, leading to felony convictions and two years in one of Colorado’s worst prisons. There, I discovered the transformative power of art through a graphic design program that helped me confront my past and imagine a different future.
After release, I continued studying design, expanding into ceramics and sculpture. My practice now examines societal structures, war, belief, disability, and the systems that marginalize others. Developing adaptive methods due to my disabilities made accessibility integral to my work. Through installation, sculpture, and digital processes, I explore trauma, memory, and the cultural conditioning of violence. After having received my BFA from Marshall University, I am now working to complete my MFA at Vermont State University’s Vermont Studio Center program.