ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
​The TEST SITE artist residency program at Bountiful Davis Art Center is designed to foster experimentation and innovation, culminating in a solo exhibition in our Annex Gallery. Artists selected for the BDAC residency receive 24-hour access to a private studio, fully equipped with materials and tools, allowing them to create and explore their work freely. The body of work developed during the residency will be showcased in a solo exhibition in the Annex Gallery during the following calendar year, with BDAC providing comprehensive marketing and publicity support across social media, newsletters, and press releases.
In addition to studio and exhibition opportunities, resident artists are expected to contribute to the BDAC community by giving an artist talk, workshop, or leading a critique session with local artists. This engagement enriches the resident's experience while also strengthening connections within the broader BDAC community, fostering relationships, and expanding the artist’s network.
The program offers two residencies: one running from fall to spring and a summer residency. The Test Site Summer Residency provides a graduating high school student and a teacher from the Davis School District with 24-hour studio access, offering a unique opportunity to develop their skills in a professional environment.
CURRENT ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
As a contemporary Chilean fiber artist, I draw inspiration from the rich history and traditions of my home country. Through my work, I seek to honor the legacy of indigenous textile arts, while also bringing a modern perspective to these age-old techniques.
One of the things that sets my work apart is my commitment to using only hand-spun yarn in my pieces. This allows me to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces that are full of texture and depth. I love the way that the natural variations in the yarn add to the overall character and personality of my work.
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Each of my pieces is a testament to the time, patience, and dedication that goes into the art of fiber. From sourcing the wool to spinning it into yarn and finally weaving and stitching it into a finished piece, every step of the process is a labor of love.
Jaxsen M. Layton​​​​
Layton is a Utah based artist with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Weber State University with an emphasis on two-dimensional artwork. Using drawing and painting as a vehicle to display the dichotomy and nuances of life. He is influenced by biology, organic forms, anatomy, technology, and psychological processes.
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I explore cognitive processes—conscious, subconscious, and unconscious—as accumulations of past, present, and future influences. Translating these into visual form creates a freeze frame of thought, idea, and emotion—an intimate, ever-shifting realm unique to each individual and akin to the soul. Through body, botanical and organic form, color, media, texture, interaction, and repetition, I create spaces that echo life’s constant ebb and flow: ambiguous, fluid, and never fixed in meaning.
