About A.LaB

Ash LaBranche, better known by the artist moniker A.LaB, is a Chicago-born, Las Vegas-based contemporary artist whose work explores psychology, perception, humor, and the contradictions of modern life

A.LaB holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago and an MBA in Finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Her path to becoming an artist, however, began much earlier.

A.LaB grew up watching her mother, a self-taught artist, transform ordinary materials into paintings, ceramics, and objects of beauty. She taught A.LaB the fundamentals of art as a child, along with a lesson that would take much longer to understand: creativity requires patience. Although A.LaB remained involved in the arts through drawing, craft, music, and theater, she ultimately pursued a more practical career in financial services. Years later, professional burnout led A.LaB to therapy, where art was suggested as an outlet. At nearly the same time, her mother was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Returning to art became both a way to reconnect with her and an opportunity to rediscover a part of herself she had set aside.

A.LaB began painting seriously in 2024 and established her practice under the A.LaB moniker in 2026. Largely self-taught, she works primarily in acrylic while experimenting with canvas, wood, glass, found objects, modeling paste, and other unconventional materials. Her work draws from a lifelong interest in human behavior and an instinct for finding humor, even in difficult subjects. Through surreal imagery, unexpected materials, and visual contradictions, A.LaB creates work intended to catch the eye, reward a second look, and invite viewers to discover meanings of their own.