Spiritually inspired art is on display at the River Gallery.
The concept of man's creation being the result of inanimate clay gifted with the divine spark is a belief that has found traction with cultures ranging from the ancient Egyptians to modern-day Christians.
Throughout her life, Asheville, N.C.-based ceramist Becky Gray has turned the tables on this divine notion by using clay to give shape to the spiritual force that pervades the world around her.
"[My pieces] are not religious, per se, but I'm a Quaker, so I see the spirit in all things," she says. "It would be my hope that any piece I did would have a resonance on that level with the viewer. I hope that it conveys a respect for the people and creatures that I show, a spiritual respect."
Through the end of the month, River Gallery will feature Gray's work alongside that of Delaware-based multimedia artist Sister Mary Grace Thul in "Contemplations of the Spirit."
A figurative sculptor, Gray's pieces are diverse in their representation of human and natural forms. Some, such as an overflowing menagerie of wildlife called "Ark" (as in Noah's) are purely decorative. Others pieces are functional, such as the self-evident "Menorah."
The beauty of clay, she says, is that it straddles the form/function boundary, a characteristic that has entranced her since she first began shaping figures out of Plasticine clay at age 5.
"Clay was just my play medium, my fantasy world," she says. "Clay is just so flexible, and it is of the earth and has been used for thousands and thousands and thousands of years by people to express their inner spiritual feelings and to create pieces that they needed to use. They would combine these things in wonderful ways."
Thul is a Dominican nun who has been cloistered for more than 50 years and now lives in a Delaware monastery. A classically trained artist, her collages in "Contemplations" look like modern echoes of the paintings in medieval illuminated manuscripts. According to the River Gallery's description of the exhibit, Thul views making art as a form of prayer and "invites the viewer to find inner peace through her intimate and gestural representations of her faith."
Both artists have long been represented by River Gallery, but this exhibit is their first collaborative showing, says gallery Assistant Manager Katie Rogers.
"They were put together because they both pull from spirituality as inspiration for their work," she says. "I think there's definitely a meditative quality to the show."
Despite their shared reverence for the divine and ethereal, Gray says she was worried at first that there wouldn't be enough commonality in hers and Thul's approach to make their work compatible. Nevertheless, she says, she hopes those who visit their show leave with a renewed appreciation for the spiritual element, regardless of the way they choose to interpret it.
"I would hope that they would be seeking within themselves to discover 'What is spirit?' and what it means in their lives," she says. "Is it response to holy books? Is it a response to the sacredness in the life around us? Is it both? Why not? Why can't they be companions?
"I want them to see that the world is full of spirit and that it's up to us to interpret that spirit, either through a religion or through our personal vision where we find it."
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.
The concept of man's creation being the result of inanimate clay gifted with the divine spark is a belief that has found traction with cultures ranging from the ancient Egyptians to modern-day Christians.