Robert Gray
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1943, Colorado Springs, Colorado
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 15th Governor's Invitational, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO
Turn and Shoot: Robert Gray & Dan Downing, Trembling Aspen Gallery,
Buena Vista, CO
Four Virtues, Denver International Airport Art Exhibition, Denver, CO
2004 14th Governor's Invitational, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO
2002-04 Quilts and Fine Woodworking, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum,
Colorado Springs, CO
2002 Contemporary Woodturning, Wave Gallery, New Haven, CT
Concurrent with Wood Turning in North America Since 1930,
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven CT,
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
1999 Working with the Grain, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
1998 Objects of Colorado, Denver International Airport, Denver, CO
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Gray's Colorado heritage is deeply invested in each vessel coming from his studio in Buena Vista, Colorado. The Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains and the Upper Arkansas Valley has provided a spectacular backdrop for his 30 years of woodworking. Gray's interest in wood began while studying for degrees in forestry and industrial arts education at Colorado State University. In 1972 he established the Woodworking Program for Buena Vista Public Schools and in 1978 opened a fine cabinetry shop that he continued for 13 years. He built and ran the Trembling Aspen Gallery and Studio in Buena Vista for ten years where he continued to improve his turning techniques and forms for his aspen vessels.
Gray's interests in the natural history and aesthetics of natural woods together with a dedication to hand craft eventually led him to his strong commitment to turning.
He expanded his craft through studies with nationally recognized turners including Rude Osolnik, Dale Nish, Richard Raffin and Michael Peterson.
His finely sculpted vessels are individually created from carefully selected aspens downed by the Rocky Mountain winds in the nearby forests of his native Colorado high country. He follows a meticulous multi-step procedure that includes a lengthy curing process to prevent cracking, ranging from 12 to 18 months, producing a very stable vessel. Aspen presents a challenging paradox; Technically a hardwood, it is relatively soft yet has great strength due to its long fibered structure. Although this presents sanding problems, Gray's surfaces are flawless and he exploits the wood's natural strength and resiliency to achieve extraordinarily delicate vessel walls.
Solid blanks of wet aspen, Gray's raw material, weigh up to 100 pounds. These are ultimately reduced to a few elegant ounces of vessel form, so thin that most are translucent skins of marbled aspen wood pattern. The wood's coloration ranges from a light ivory with the purity of this rarefied tree to a rich buttery cream, frequently marbled with grain in glowing ochres and deep browns with suggestions of maroon and purple.
Limbs and joints offer the artist new options for vessel shapes, and he has developed lathe-turning techniques to exploit these eccentric shapes that rise organically out of the vessel's geometric body.
His understanding of the opportunities and limitations of the lathe interact with his eye to explore the potential of each piece. Recent shapes have evolved from opportunities suggested by the structure of each tree encountered. As a result, Gray has innovated a number of personal turning techniques that defy normal expectations of the turning process.
The artist's exquisite, tactile vessels are surprisingly light and lyrically translucent, exploding with the colors of natural aspen that range from the subtle to the dramatic. These ongoing explorations of vessel form respond to the unique character of each piece of wood. Gray synthesizes his unique artistic sensibilities with a deep appreciation and knowledge of wood and expert technical skills.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 15th Governor's Invitational, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO
Turn and Shoot: Robert Gray & Dan Downing, Trembling Aspen Gallery,
Buena Vista, CO
Four Virtues, Denver International Airport Art Exhibition, Denver, CO
2004 14th Governor's Invitational, Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland, CO
2002-04 Quilts and Fine Woodworking, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum,
Colorado Springs, CO
2002 Contemporary Woodturning, Wave Gallery, New Haven, CT
Concurrent with Wood Turning in North America Since 1930,
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven CT,
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
1999 Working with the Grain, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
1998 Objects of Colorado, Denver International Airport, Denver, CO
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Gray's Colorado heritage is deeply invested in each vessel coming from his studio in Buena Vista, Colorado. The Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains and the Upper Arkansas Valley has provided a spectacular backdrop for his 30 years of woodworking. Gray's interest in wood began while studying for degrees in forestry and industrial arts education at Colorado State University. In 1972 he established the Woodworking Program for Buena Vista Public Schools and in 1978 opened a fine cabinetry shop that he continued for 13 years. He built and ran the Trembling Aspen Gallery and Studio in Buena Vista for ten years where he continued to improve his turning techniques and forms for his aspen vessels.
Gray's interests in the natural history and aesthetics of natural woods together with a dedication to hand craft eventually led him to his strong commitment to turning.
He expanded his craft through studies with nationally recognized turners including Rude Osolnik, Dale Nish, Richard Raffin and Michael Peterson.
His finely sculpted vessels are individually created from carefully selected aspens downed by the Rocky Mountain winds in the nearby forests of his native Colorado high country. He follows a meticulous multi-step procedure that includes a lengthy curing process to prevent cracking, ranging from 12 to 18 months, producing a very stable vessel. Aspen presents a challenging paradox; Technically a hardwood, it is relatively soft yet has great strength due to its long fibered structure. Although this presents sanding problems, Gray's surfaces are flawless and he exploits the wood's natural strength and resiliency to achieve extraordinarily delicate vessel walls.
Solid blanks of wet aspen, Gray's raw material, weigh up to 100 pounds. These are ultimately reduced to a few elegant ounces of vessel form, so thin that most are translucent skins of marbled aspen wood pattern. The wood's coloration ranges from a light ivory with the purity of this rarefied tree to a rich buttery cream, frequently marbled with grain in glowing ochres and deep browns with suggestions of maroon and purple.
Limbs and joints offer the artist new options for vessel shapes, and he has developed lathe-turning techniques to exploit these eccentric shapes that rise organically out of the vessel's geometric body.
His understanding of the opportunities and limitations of the lathe interact with his eye to explore the potential of each piece. Recent shapes have evolved from opportunities suggested by the structure of each tree encountered. As a result, Gray has innovated a number of personal turning techniques that defy normal expectations of the turning process.
The artist's exquisite, tactile vessels are surprisingly light and lyrically translucent, exploding with the colors of natural aspen that range from the subtle to the dramatic. These ongoing explorations of vessel form respond to the unique character of each piece of wood. Gray synthesizes his unique artistic sensibilities with a deep appreciation and knowledge of wood and expert technical skills.