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Jesse Ly is an Asian-American photographic and image-based artist. They hold a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with a minor in Art History and a certificate in Critical Visions from the University of Cincinnati’s College of DAAP. They currently are the Graphic Design and Photography Media Facilities Coordinator for Art & Design at the University of Dayton. 

Ly is a visual artist who primarily uses a photographic approach that incorporates processes of sculpture, bookmaking and writing to inform and expand imagery. Their work explores identity through representation, comprehension and context in photographs via considering their transitional qualities of existence. This examines how photographic depictions may incite differentiation in presence and portrayal versus actuality. 

They have exhibited work nationally across the United States and internationally. A selection of solo and two person exhibitions include Image Interference at Basketshop Gallery (Cincinnati), Support Systems at SHAG (Stone House Art Gallery, Charlotte) and please remember this ... (The Neon  Heater, Findlay, Ohio). Notable group exhibitions include Wild Frictions The Politics and Poetics of Interruption (The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati), FotoFocus - Auto//Update (Carnegie Arts Center, Covington, Ky.) and I Don’t Know How To Respond To That at the PhMuseum (Bologna, Italy). They are a recipient of the MCACD and Culture Works Artist Opportunity Grant, the Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council, as well as the Dayton Regional Artist Renewal Grant via the National Endowment for the Arts, and was named a finalist for the Aperture Portfolio Prize for 2023.