Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng

Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng is an artist and educator based in Edinburg, Texas, where he leads the ceramics program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg campus. He holds an MFA in Ceramics from Illinois State University, USA, and a B.A. in Industrial Art (Ceramics) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana.

Japheth has exhibited widely both locally and internationally in esteemed institutions such as the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (Beaumont, Texas), Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (Salt Lake City, Utah), Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, California), University Galleries (Normal, Illinois), and DAAP Galleries (Cincinnati, Ohio). His works are part of the permanent collection at University Galleries and in private collections across the United States.

His artistic practice honors the legacy of Ghanaian ceramic history and its contemporary presence, drawing on complex cultural symbols with a spirit of openness and innovation. With over a decade of experience working with his favorite medium – clay – and a deep commitment to teaching, Japheth brings both technical skill and cultural sensitivity to the classroom and studio. Before moving to the United States for graduate studies, he served as a teaching technician at KNUST, Ghana. There, he was responsible for kiln and studio equipment maintenance, as well as sourcing and processing wild clay and glaze materials for the ceramics program. He has worked with and learned from notable ceramics professors, including Parpah Senanu Kwawukume and Jeannie Hulen, and contributed to research into the production of electrical porcelain, tile cement, and crucibles using wild clay and locally sourced materials.

Japheth is passionate about community engagement. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he joined a group of graduate students and an art history professor from Illinois State University to organize At the Table – a series of virtual dinners and conversations designed to foster community and vulnerability in a time of global isolation. The group developed discussion themes, recipes, and ceramic bowls, creating a space for empathy, camaraderie, and shared experience across different backgrounds.

Japheth is an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics and has served as Fellowship Coordinator on the Artaxis Board. He also contributed to NCECA through its Collaboration and Engagement Committee, reflecting his active role in shaping the future of ceramics through education, advocacy, and community. He graduated as Valedictorian from the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University.

Visit Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng’s website and Instagram page.