Exhibitions

Currently open

Excuse Me ? Solo show at Canfas

Closing March 28th 2026

An exploration of self portraiture, familiar objects, animals and landscapes, Dottie-may Aston creates intimate worlds where contemporary life and old whimsical tales entwine.

Meet The Artist Saturday 7 March 1-3pm

December 2025   Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead.

November 2025 Opening Exhibition, Annwfn Gallery, Brecon.

July 2025         Here Be Dragons, Auto Palace Llandrindod.

June 2025 Coquette Cornucopia, FAB, Bath.

March 2025 Us/together, Dispensary gallery, Wrexham.

December 2024   Gallery Gwyn’s Gaia 24, Gallery gwyn, Aberaeron.

July 2024       Y Lle Celf, Eisteddfod, Pontypridd. 

December 2023   Royal Cambrian Academy, open exhibition, Cowny.

The 170 Annual Open Exhibition, RWA Bristol.

September 2023

The Tabernacle Art Competition 2023, MoMa Machynlleth.

September 2023

The London Biennale, Chelsea Old Town Hall. 

July 2023

Stray Threads and Sludge – FAB, Bath.

27.5.2023 – 10.6.2023

“Often, I find myself contemplating the coatings of beauty that have become customary in day-to-day life. What lies beneath the facade of glamour and perfection? I believe the answer is within the sludge. Golden Objectification observes the muck of insecurities from modern beauty standards.”

Life – Gallery Gwyn, Aberaeron Ceredigion

7.4.2023 – 27.5.2023

STORIEL OPEN 2023 – Storiel, Bangor.

1.3.2023 – 16.6.2023

An exhibition on an open theme showing artwork of various media including painting, print, photography, textiles and ceramic.

Agored – Oriel Brondanw.

4.3.2023 – 7.5.2023

The title Ovum Nymphs has mixed meanings and is a playful interpretation of mythology and biology. Abstracted shell shapes adorn where heads should – structures that resemble the form of ovaries symbolise the figures as ova. A nymph in Greek mythology is a large class of female divinities associated with fertility. In biology, a nymph is the immature form of some invertebrates. Unlike a typical larva, a nymph’s overall shape resembles an adult. As it was with Venus, who came into existence as a fully grown woman, birthed seemingly from thin air.

Dottie-may Aston

Spacecraft – Umbrella, Cardiff.

11.3.2023 – 16.3.2023

Bilingual art journal displaying work from Young Creatives from across Wales. Featuring interviews and articles about the arts in Wales; crafts and spaces; music and poetry; artists’ studios and Welsh art collectives.

Agored 2022 – Galeri Caernarfon.

3.12.2022 – 18.2.2023

Underneath a façade of ethereal colour my visual commentary responds to the theme of existentialism and body dysmorphia. The soft flesh of the female figure amalgamates into a rigid mollusc. Highlighting the less favourable parts of female Anatomy this series expresses beauty found within the so-called flaws of the body.

Young Welsh Artists – MOMA Machynlleth.

19.11.2022 – 28.1.2023

“November 2022 sees the return of Artistiaid Ifainc Cymru – Young Welsh Artists to MOMA Machynlleth.  Established in 2020, the annual  exhibition showcases the work of artists under 30 working in Wales. The third instalment of AIC-YWA introduces eight early-career artists from across Wales, whose disciplines range from ceramics and photography to painting and installations.”

Duo Show – Gwesty Cymru, Aberystwyth.

1.11.2022 – 1.12.2022

Expressing personal feelings of alienation Dottie-may Aston has portrayed herself inside a mollusc-like entity. Musing upon reference photos taken while self-isolating and studying in Aberystwyth, this series conveys the stillness felt in lockdown. “My expressions in these images were symbolic of still life. A quiet time spent contemplating and waiting for isolation to end and things to begin.”

Antagonym – Galeri Caernarfon.

15.10.2022 – 19.11.2022

Drawing from feelings of bodily dissatisfaction and dysmorphic challenges, Dottie-may’s sculptures and paintings currently depict a cruel beauty that the female form often experiences. Taking inspiration from the Symbolist movement, she has developed a mode of expression that subtly guides the viewer into feeling the concept. Through her work, she hopes to comment on the challenges of womanhood and the way in which the female body is used and consumed in society.

The Tŷ Pawb Open – Tŷ Pawb Wrexham.

15.10.2022 – 7.1.2023

“Featuring works by over 150 artists from across the country, working in a range of mediums including paint, print and sculpture. This year the initial selections were made by the team in-house at Ty Pawb, with criteria including: ensuring a range of techniques / practices represented across the show and ensuring inclusion of non-professional alongside professional artists.”

Mythologies, Monochrome, Chiaroscuro – Gallerie V Cambridge.

7.10.2022 – 14.12.2022

“This exhibition we showcase a variety
of mediums explored by young UK
artists. From sculpture to video, we are proud
to present this exhibition exploring
monochrome colour palettes, shade
and light, as well as myths.”

OBJECTS – Blackwater Gallery, Cardiff.

12.8.2022 – 1.9.2022

“Fememento was derived from an idiosyncratic fascination with objects and the regular questioning of beauty standards and ideals. Responding to themes of existentialism and body dysmorphia my work expresses a sense of calm fragility. Merging the physical forms of molluscs with the female human figure I hope to gently draw attention to the way in which the conscious mind’s self-deprecating aspects of criticism perceives the body as an object.”

POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ART – Mid Wales Arts, Caersws.

5.6.2022 – 7.8.2022

This year’s Climate Change exhibition it is full of imaginative, daring, and sustainable artwork which can be seen in the grounds and galleries of Mid Wales Arts. Our intention is to provoke awareness and involvement, inform, raise questions and encourage conversation, so that we can all make changes to our behaviour with a view to slow down Global Warming.

STORIEL OPEN 2022 – Storiel, Bangor.

9.4.2022 – 25.6.2022

“An exhibition on an open theme showing artwork of various media including painting, print, photography, textiles and ceramic.”

Dottie may Aston

Cravings – Vacant Museum, Virtual Exhibition.

7.1.2022 – n/a

Curb your cravings! Feast your eyes on the delectable female figure laid out for your sole enjoyment. On-the-bone sumptuously plump idea of emaciated perfection. Starve yourself no more!

Agored 2021  — Galeri, Caernarfon.

04.12.21 – 15.01.22

Dottie-may Aston is a painter and sculptor based in Anglesey. She has an idiosyncratic fascination with objects. Interested in how we impose sentiment onto otherwise everyday items, she created delicate personalities within the light-hearted motif of seashells. The paintings and sculptures convey how a memory can become the object itself.

Dottie may Aston
Dottie may aston

Degree Show 2020-21 – Aberystwyth University School of Art.

18.5.2021 – 28.5.2021

This series depicts the birth of memory associated with an object. The human form in them is the representation of memory and how, through a slow labour, this memory develops within the objects – to the extent that, when viewing an item, all that is seen is a memory.

Lone Worlds – The Sustainable Studios, Cardiff.

20.11.2020 – 27.11.2020

“Secluded within their shell homes longing for freedom, stretching out they still cannot escape this attachment – expressing themselves through dance like positions.”

Dottie may Aston

All images are protected under UK copyright law