Stone, A solo exhibition by Don Gray

The Nightingale Gallery of Eastern Oregon University is pleased to present Stone, a solo exhibition of work by EOU alumnus and local artist, Don Gray.

The exhibition opens Friday, October 5 with a reception for the artist from 6-8pm in the gallery located in Loso Hall.  The show will run through Friday, October 26. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 11am to 4pm.

Stone features a collection of Don Gray’s works in both painting and drawing. His depictions of rocks and sky can be seen as metaphors of a larger reality, a reality beyond what we can observe.

“Indigenous peoples around the world think of the entire earth as a living organism.  Modern science increasingly corroborates that intuitive notion” explains Gray.  “It occurred to me that the only reason we think of a rock as inanimate is because its lifespan is unimaginably longer than our own. I sensed the life in these stones as metaphors of the living earth.”

Gray’s exhibit investigates the extraordinary in the ordinary. The multi-panel works make it necessary for viewer to experience the pieces incrementally and cumulatively, building an intrinsic sense of time into the work. The images are at once both vibrant and quiet, they straddle the line between representation and abstraction, and search for meaning in the most basic elements of our natural world.

Gray’s exhibition in the Nightingale coincides with the unveiling of his recently completed mural for EOU’s Inlow Hall. The mural presents portraits of 36 individuals who, as students, faculty or administrators, have had made their mark on EOU’s 83 year history. The official unveiling of the mural will take place on October 12 at 1PM in the Inlow Hall Welcome Center.

Don Gray grew up in rural Oregon and started drawing and painting at a young age. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University in 1970. Gray has painted large murals all over the U.S., illustrated books, taught workshops, won numerous awards and exhibited his work in many galleries and museums. In 2007 he began an online journal, www.dailyartwest.com, where he posts small daily paintings and commentary. His work is included in the permanent collections of the State of Oregon, The Hallie Ford Museum, The University of Washington Medical Center, the Frye Art Museum, the Grande Ronde Regional Medical Clinic, and numerous other collections both public and private.

The Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall on the campus of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, OR.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 11AM-4PM.  For more information please visit our website: https://www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery/ or follow us on Facebook.