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Black & White Gallery is pleased to announce a solo show of recent works by Randy Wray at the gallery�s Chelsea space from April 27 to June 2, 2007
The sculptures, paintings, and drawings in Randy Wray�s exhibition Chapter and Verse, take a variety of approaches to the subject of Faith. Diverse styles, materials, and perspectives converge to form a kind of psychic cubism. The resulting manifestations possess a formal intensity that transcends conventional notions of beauty. By skillfully joining ambiguous forms with images of webs, crosses, and the American flag,the artist
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Images from left to right, from top :
Preacher�s Daughter, 2007
papier-mache, macrame, wood, wire, glass glitter, mica, 83� x 57� x 42�
Toward's a Unified Theory, papier-mache, wood, wire, electric lights, glass, mica,
Blind Date,
2007papier-mache, wood, wire, quartz crystals, acrylic paint, 65� x 21� x 20�
Torch, 2007
papier-mache, steel, electric lights, quartz crystals, glass, mica, acrylic paint, 37� x 22� x 18�
Chapter & Verse (detail), 2007
papier-mache, wood, sewn canvas, quartz crystals, wire, acrylic paint, oil paint, resin, mica, 53� x 27� x 20�
Faith Collider, 2007
papier-mache
72� x 62� x 30�
All images courtesy of Black & White Gallery
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achieves works rife with symbolic interpretations, often of a Southern Gothic flavor. With titles like Dark Matter, Faith Collider, Toward a Unified Theory, and Apparition, Wray evokes the language of both the laboratory and the pulpit drawing comparisons between science and religion. The distinctive works produced by his sophisticated sense of play are themselves affirmations of faith, even as they raise questions about spirituality, patriotism, and belief in things unseen.
In a hanging sculpture entitled Higgs boson, Wray gives form to the hypothetical elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. He also references the ritual flower offerings made in sixth century Buddhist temples that later became known as ikebana. Dispensing with the plants, he composes shredded paper, quartz crystals, and electric lights in his offerings and calls them Ickybana.
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