Memory, Place, Identity: Collage Paintings by Eric McRay

March 2, 2026 - March 27, 2026                                                                  
Reception & Artist Talk: Thursday, March 5, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

"Memory, Place, Identity" presents a selection of Eric McRay's collage paintings that explore how personal history and collective experience are shaped by geography, culture, and time. Drawing from lived experience and cultural memory, the work reflects the intersections of urban and rural life within the American South and the broader Black Diaspora. 

McRay's process of cutting, layering, and painting mirrors the way memory functions - fragmented, intuitive, and continuously evolving. Figures, interiors, and landscapes emerge through richly textured surfaces, suggesting presence, absense, and remembrance rather than fixed narratives. By uniting disparate visual elements, the work honors both individual identity and shared cultural inheritance. 

These collage paintings invite viewers to consider how memory is constructed, how place leaves its imprint on the body and spirit, and how cultural identity is shaped through generations, movement, and adaptation.