ANDRÉ LEON GRAY b. 1969 Raleigh, NC; lives and works in Raleigh, NC>
SELECTED SOLO / TWO ARTIST EXHIBITIONS
2011 Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC
2010 figment of the pigment, Flanders Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2009 The Audacity of Victory, Litmus Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2008 Yes Yes Y’all, M Street Gallery, Raleigh, NC
eye gumbo: revisited, Mims Gallery, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, NC
2007 Versus, Litmus Gallery, Raleigh, NC
An/ahata: Requiem for Thelonious Monk, Reynolds Industries Theater Lobby, Duke University, Durham, NC
(in conjunction with Following Monk: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the NC Legend’s birth)
Circumventing the Pigment (remix), Leggett Theatre Gallery, Peace College, Raleigh, NC
2005 eye gumbo, DUMBO General Store & Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2004 circumventing the pigment, Artspace, Raleigh, NC
2003 eye gumbo, Manbites Dog Theatre, Durham, NC, Presented by the Contemporary Art Museum
2001 eye gumbo, Hyman Fine Arts Center, Francis Marion University, Florence, SC
2000 eye gumbo: favorite recipes, Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, Duke University, Durham, NC
eye gumbo: fruits of my labor, Regional Emerging Artist in Residence Exhibition, Artspace, Raleigh, NC
1999 eye gumbo vol. v: un/seen existence, Artspace, Raleigh, NC
eye gumbo vol. iv: altered destiny, Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
eye gumbo vol. iii: pastpresentfuture, CCB Gallery, Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC
1998 Eye Gumbo Vol. II: Tomatoes, Peas & Okra, Louise Jones Brown Gallery, Duke University, Durham, NC
1997 Lump Gallery, Raleigh, NC
Eye Gumbo, Mims Gallery, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, NC
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 Green Frame, Builders of Hope Exhibition, Raleigh City Museum, Raleigh, NC
2009 Gallery Nomads, Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC
SparkCon PODS Art Installation on Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC
2008 Drips, Caps & Flicks, Golden Belt, Durham, NC
Spectrumed, Flanders Art Gallery, Raleigh, NC
Looking Back: Regional Emerging Artists in Residence 2000-2004, Artspace, Raleigh, NC
Be Here Monsters, Flanders 311 Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2007 Forever Lost? Long View Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2006 Elements: An Invitational Exhibition of Assemblage/Collage Works, Marty Lane Gallery, The Arts Center at the Imperial Centre, Rocky Mount, NC
African American Culture Celebration, North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC
2005 Thresholds: Expressions of Art & Spiritual Life, Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky; McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC; Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC
Curated by Eleanor Heartney, Traveling exhibition, 2003 - 2006
2004 Social Justice, with Sue Coe, Leggett Theatre Gallery, Peace College, Raleigh, NC
Sculpture: Retold, Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC
1999 Constant/Change: Statements from a New Generation of North Carolina Artists, Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2010-11 African Gallery, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC (on loan)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2010 Craig Jarvis, “Artful replicas to raise money for Haiti,” News & Observer, March 10
2009 Tom Patterson, “Exhibit showcases works from 6 Raleigh galleries,” Winston-Salem Journal, August 9
I am an advocate for social change and spiritual growth in mind, body and soul.
My artwork reflects my concern for humanity’s progression by primarily using post-consumer objects and mixed media techniques, which I call “eye gumbo,” to encourage the viewer to celebrate the beauty of ordinary things, to see the world with new eyes, and to ponder their opinions on the issues presented.
Eye gumbo questions Western standards of beauty, superficial aesthetics, Old South nostalgia, black male and female identity in a consumerist culture, and the artificial social construct of racism and its impact on the human condition.
Eye gumbo is a visual meal for the mind, thickened with a roux of African American culture, marinated in social commentary and seasoned with consciousness.
