This quote by the artist Eleanor Ray touches on the scale of her paintings, but also on the idea of placing oneself in an immersive setting created by another either through the use of words, or as in Ray’s case, through carefully composed or framed visual components, and leaving it to the reader or viewer to imagine being there.

 

Many of Ray’s paintings give us glimpses of places we know from the history of art, medieval to contemporary:  the 14th century frescoes by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy;  the 15th century  frescoes by Fra Angelico in the convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy; Robert Smithson’s  earth work titled Spiral Jetty in Utah’s Great Salt Lake; Donald Judd’s concrete and aluminum works in Marfa, Texas; and Agnes Martin’s artist-built house and studio in Galisteo, New Mexico. Ray also paints pure landscapes with their own immersive power. One gets the feeling visits to these sites were pilgrimages. Geometric structures help frame distant landscapes of big sky and faraway hills and accentuate interior and exterior spaces. In many of the works, there is a push/pull between architectural elements, strong shadows, warm light, and soft gradations of colors.

 

Eleanor Ray (b. 1987, Gainesville, FL) lives and works in New York. She received her undergraduate degree from Amherst and an MFA from the New York Studio School. She is represented by Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, NYC. Numerous awards and residencies include Ucross Foundation, Wyoming; Edward F. Albee Foundation, NY; New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting; and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Purchase Prize.

 

In 1997, Hollins University began an artist-in-residence program honoring Frances Niederer, a beloved art history professor who taught at Hollins for almost forty years (1942-1980). This program brings a nationally and internationally recognized artist to campus each spring. The artist creates work, teaches a seminar open to all students, and delivers a public lecture in conjunction with their solo exhibition in the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum.