SB ART & CULTURE
BY SEVA MAY
ORIGINS:
ART BY JERRY WRAY
T
he Louisiana State Exhibit Museum has opened a display of two prominent women artists titled, “Origins and Retrospective: A Celebration of Color,” which will be open through October 8, 2021. A Curators’ Reception will be held on Thursday, September 16, from 5-7 pm in the West Wing Gallery. “Origins by Jerry Wray” will feature works in watercolor and acrylic on paper, canvas, and driftwood by Shreveport artist Jerry Wray (1925-2018). Lovingly curated by her daughter, Mary Virginia Hill, you can expect a true celebration of color. Her creations were her non-verbal language for expressing her spiritual journey. “The message in my art is my love for God,” she said. For decades, Jerry Wray shared what she saw in God’s beautiful handiwork with a multitude of art lovers, collectors, and art students. Now, if you’ve never heard of
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Jerry Wray or seen her vast collection of work, here’s all you need to know to convince you that she is a Shreveport legend and art world icon. Her work can be found in numerous museum collections across the nation including the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, The Goddard Museum in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and the Maier Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is also represented in The Ninth Life Fine Art Gallery in Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, the Ward Nasse Gallery in SoHo, New York, the Art Effects Gallery in Merion, Pennsylvania, and the Macon Art Gallery in Macon, Georgia. In her own words, Jerry Wray would say to you, “I would like to touch the hearts of those viewing my work. I hope to express the universality of Christianity and the common bond that binds all mankind together.” From homes
