Owen Gray “Habitat In Peril”

Blue Mountain Gallery

[Image: Owen Gray "Crocodiles and Red Snake" (2013) Oil on Paper, 38 x 32 in.]

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For Owen Gray’s 11th solo exhibition with Blue Mountain Gallery, Habitat in Peril, Gray continues to shows us what Critic Jed Pearl calls “intimations of darker emotional register”. Although it is clear what traditions Owen is coming from: Tiepolo, Bosch, Goya, Bruegel, the impetus for his work is shrouded in symbols and metaphors.

In particular, Hieronymous Bosch has provided a constant fodder for Gray. Bosch’s depictions of fire, recently sparked Gray’s attention as he looks at them from close-up. The smaller the vantage point, the more the fallen shapes swirl around the fire creating mysterious figures in their silhouettes.

Also an indication of his manipulation of scale, Gray depicts microcosmic worlds that are removed and blown up into the world below or above us, as in a swamp or sky. Snakes, crocodiles, butterflies, and bathers struggle to survive as they are removed from their natural habitat and are flung into a state of peril. The unknown state that Gray’s characters exist in can serve as metaphor for the real world struggle of climate change and natural habitat destruction that Gray has cited as a source of inspiration. It’s a fragile place that Gray depicts, given to us a bridge between the real world and the primordial soup that dreams are made of.