Mustafa Ali Clayton (b. 1978) is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who uses organic and sustainable materials to create ceramic busts and wooden assemblage plinths that are an integral part of the work. In his practice, he combines traditional and contemporary techniques while incorporating elements of history and lineage through oil painting, quilting, beading, ceramics, and assemblage. Using materials like fibers, clay, wax, wood, beads, and pigments, Clayton expands upon his intimate, labor-intensive process, to reach balance. The works frequently highlight distorted physical attributes, such as wide eyes, small ears, button noses, or warped facial proportions that the artist utilizes to direct attention to the subtle distinctions between reality and the artificial. Some anime influences are evident and through the use of mirrored ceramic busts and wooden assemblages, he challenges the concept of classical portraiture. Clayton's works reframe figurative traditions as acts of soft defiance within a historical context.

Mustafa Ali Clayton has exhibited in the US and Europe. Recent exhibitions include Think Pinker curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody, Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; “A Love Letter to LA” at Phillips Auction House, Los Angeles; and “Ceramics Synthesized” at Blumenfield Projects. His work was on view at DeWoody’s Bunker Art Space in the 2022/2023 exhibition curated by Thelma Golden & Anne Pasternak, Palm Beach, FL. He won several awards and grants including a 2024 Frieze Acquisition fund, in 2020 The Artist + Activist Relief Fund Grant and The Soze Foundation, TaskForce, and Invisible Hand. Clayton’s works are in the permanent collection of the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the Rubell Family Foundation, in Palm Beach, FL, and Washington, D.C; and The Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, Palm Beach, FL. In 2024, Clayton had a summer residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Clayton lives and works in Los Angeles.