Exhibition Reception: The Collecting Eye of Ray Graham

Achievement in Art: The Collecting Eye of Ray Graham
6:30pm Cocktails with Horsd’oeuvres
7:15pm Gallery Talk with Alex Gregory, Curator of Art ,and Ray Graham, Collector

Ray Graham is more than a collector of artworks. His longstanding and generous support of visual art has positively impacted artists and arts organizations throughout the country. It was as an anthropology student at the University of New Mexico that Ray befriended, and began to support, artists who were beginning their careers. As a result, many of the artists in the Graham collection live, or have lived, in proximity of his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The artworks on view in this exhibition reflect Ray’s curiosity and continuing commitment to supporting emerging artists, artists from within his community, and artists who may be underrecognized in their time.

Visitors to the exhibition will find a visually diverse array of artworks ranging from relatively small-scale objects by artists Stuart Arends or Ross Rudel, to large paintings from Richard Thompson or Charles Field. Sculptures from David Anderson, Patrick Simpson, and Jason Knapp are included along with mixed media works by Merry Scully, prints by Edward Ruscha, a drawing by Dennis Oppenheim, and an oil pastel by Ike Morgan. Other artists whose work is on view include Heather Bingham, Gregory Botts, David Bower, John Cliett, James Cogswell, Dirk De Bruyker, Michael Eastman, Jacques Flechemuller, Thomas Freund, Lee Hill, Lester Johnson, Matt Jones, Mark Kerckoff, David Koch, Rose Mary Mack, Adrian A. Martinez, Mary Mattingly, Sharret Rose, Robin Smith, Susanna Tanger, Cara Tomlinson, Peter Voshefski, and Josie Williams.