About Me
Bio
Abby Huston (b. 2000) is a Baltimore-based multi-disciplinary collage artist who is currently pursuing her MFA at American University, with an expected graduation in spring 2027. She holds a BA in Sociology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a background that informs her interest in social systems, structure, and identity.
Working with found paper, fabric, paint, beads, and more, Huston utilizes accumulation, repetition, and variation to approach complex subject matters. Rooted in her experiences as an ex-Mormon and eldest daughter, her work returns to themes of leaving religion, family, and complicated emotional landscapes.
Prioritizing narrative, symbolism, and process, she creates layered compositions that reflect the fragmented yet interconnected nature of being human. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and their two golden retrievers, Gus and Murphy.
Artist Statement
Based on my own life experiences as an ex-Mormon and eldest daughter, my work is rooted in an attempt to understand the collage of life and people—how contrasting moments, emotions, and experiences coexist and cultivate creation.
My collage process involves using materials including paper, fabric, paint, beads, and more to construct compositions that prioritize process, narrative, and symbolism, over the original purpose or previous life of my source materials. Through accumulation, repetition, and variation of these materials, I explore themes of leaving a high-demand religion, family, and subsequently complicated emotional landscapes.
Through collage, I explore emotional residue, possibilities for transformation, and the tension between opposites: the expected and unexpected, subtle shifts and large changes, the good and the bad. What results is a reflection of the complexities and collage of the human experience—fragmentations, layers, dismantling once defining patriarchal structures, and being held together through accumulation.
CV
Education
MFA Studio Art, American University Aug 2025- Present
BA Sociology, St. Mary’s College of Maryland Aug 2021-Dec 2024
Group Exhibitions
2026– Year of the Horse, Laurel Municipal Center, Laurel, MD
2026– Under the Surface: Where Contrast, Texture and Friction Meet, The Aryan Gallery at Pars Place, Vienna VA
2026– Mr. Kennedy’s Cabinet of Wonder, Morris Memorial Gallery, Washington DC
2026– Synthesis, Katzen Arts Center, Washington DC
2025– MFA Rotunda Show, Katzen Arts Center, Washington DC
Residencies
August 2026– Sheepscot Arts Preserve
August 2026– Peters Valley School of Craft
Teaching/Workshops
2026– Paper Collage Workshop, Ballenger Creek Middle School, Frederick, MD
2026– Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Printmaking, American University
2025– Paper Collage Workshop, Ballenger Creek Middle School, Frederick, MD
2025– Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Sculpture, American University
2023-2024– Teaching Assistant for Color Theory and Advanced Painting, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Publications and Commissions
2026– April 2026 Issue, Get Closer Magazine
2026– March 2026 Issue, The Ampersand Quarterly Literary Magazine
2026– March 2026 Issue, Suboart Magazine
2025– Book Cover, Hope and Healing in the Hebrew Bible: What ancient texts can teach modern readers by Michael Huston
2024– Milkshake Artwork for Restaurant, Mac’s Tap & Table, Leonardtown, MD
Awards/Grants
2026– Wolpoff Award
2026– CAS Research Grant
2025– Ruth Meixner-Bird Scholarship