exhibition
Opening Feb. 15: Mayuko Ono Gray, 諸行無常_this too, shall pass

About the exhibition

MAYUKO ONO GRAY
諸行無常_this too, shall pass
February 15 - March 16, 2025
Opening Reception & Artist's Talk: Saturday, February 15, 4 - 6pm

An Empathy Toward Things in the Work of Mayuko Ono Gray

 Mayuko Ono Gray’s work explores the intersection of Eastern and Western reflections on impermanence through large-scale graphite still lifes, self-portraits, and depictions of her feline companions. Compositions created from objects encountered and accumulated in her daily life are arranged to echo artistic traditions of memorializing the fleeting nature of life and the futility of material pursuits. Her exhibition, 諸行無常_this too, shall pass, incorporates concepts situated between Western memento mori and the Japanese concept of mono no aware. The “things”, mono (物), of Ono Gray’s work, are imbued with a contemporary awareness or sensitivity, “aware,” aware (哀れ), of the life she has lived and things that surround her.

Born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Ono Gray moved to Houston, Texas, in 1996 and started a new period in her life, learning English, having a child, and eventually receiving her BFA and MFA from the University of Houston. Her lifetime has been divided between these two distinct places. Houston is an under-recognized, multicultural, sprawling metroplex, with over 25 percent of today’s residents having relocated from another country and culture to make a life and home for themselves. In many ways, Ono Gray and her work occupies a third cultural realm where these experiences meet, between languages, customs, foods, objects, and beliefs. Her work explores the nuances in emotional tones of these historic traditions in a playful space she occupies with text, objects, and her beloved cats.

Ono Gray studied traditional Japanese calligraphy under the guidance of a master calligrapher during her youth prior to shifting her focus to Western techniques. Japanese calligraphy, shodō (書道) or shūji (習字) involves the use of a brush, ink stick, and inkstone to achieve fluid execution of a line across a page and is perfected through repetition and meticulous observation and copying of sample scripts. Special attention is given to variations in the line, speed, and pressure to achieve the desired effect. Stroke order is essential in learning the Japanese writing system and can be compared to the handwriting lessons learned in Western cultures. Hiragana and katakana (the syllabic scripts) and kanji (the Chinese derived characters) are all learned through memorizing the construction of each character through a series of strokes. The calligraphic interpretations allow for a more fluid and artistic representation of these forms, evolving the script into an almost continuous line across the page.

In Ono Gray’s works, this calligraphy technique is translated to graphite, bridging the line between painting and drawn hatch marks. The resulting kana script crosses and interweaves the subjects of her still lifes. The Japanese proverbs inscribed in her work become abstracted, in some instances resembling a cord, a ribbon, a tangle of wires, and others taking the form of balloon animals. Her stylized lines begin at the upper right of the work and end at the lower left, following the reading order of Japanese text and intended to further emphasize the path of a life lived. The proverbs inscribed in her work are not always revealed in the Japanese or English components of their titles, making them a subject that is sometimes lost in translation. This ambiguity allows them to occupy this third unknown space, enabling the viewer to consider if it is just a line or if it has meaning. In this space, Ono Gray reveals her keen ability to situate herself as an artist who utilizes visual art to bridge understanding that transcends language and makes space for cultural expression, allowing the language to simultaneously bind and escape the composition.

The accumulations of objects that occupy Ono Gray’s work offer a personal look at the contents of the artist’s home, studio, and geographical locale, as well as a critique of the accumulations of “stuff” that clog our environment under the pressures of consumer culture.  頭かくしてしりかくさず_Christmas 2022 assembles an excess of holiday decor sourced from dollar stores inscribed with a Japanese proverb that translates to “one shouldn't bury one's head in the sand while leaving one's bottom exposed.” Ono Gray considers these accumulations humorous and a marking of the passing of time, however the work and text also reveal a shallowness in our celebrations and belief systems, as well as the consequences of relying on material objects for meaning and self-fulfillment. These objects bring joy, but do not evoke the sentiments experienced through witnessing the fleeting beauty of a sunset or springtime cherry blossom.

Pulsating Still Life_Composition in Dish Soap features a comically wide-ranging variety of soaps, all with the promise of cleanliness. The Brillo brand is as inseparable from the works of Andy Warhol as the H-E-B grocery brand is from Texas, however the bubble is the only subject with the same fleeting existence that references both Western and Eastern concepts of impermanence. These bubbles can be found across the majority of Ono Gray’s work and demonstrate a mastery of technique and playful reminder of the unperceived mortality of the co-occupants of her compositions.

Pulsating Still Life_Composition in Clear and Pulsating Still Life_Composition in Black amplify the void of color and use of grayscale throughout Ono Gray’s work, which harks back to her roots in Japanese calligraphy and sumi ink, juxtaposing the light/clear and dark/black of her pictorial space. Composition in Clear resembles a masterful rendering of a thrift haul, while Composition in Black features the same excess of material items including a coffee maker, kayak paddle, tripod, and drafting tubes.

Ono Gray’s works featuring grids of circles present more technical aspects, including 見て分からんものは聞いても分からん_Moxie's Reflection, Pulsating Still Life_Mangos in Oaxaca, and Recalibration_3-27-22, revealing the grid system the artist uses to control proportion and achieve the scale of her works. The calibration method reveals the use of the camera and reproduction methods to control scale and proportion, while simultaneously introducing a new method of abstraction to these works. The artist describes these works as an opportunity for her to resist the urge to overthink while drawing and allow her to focus on the graphite and gradations of each circle while working in an almost meditative state.

Ono Gray’s cats are an important subject in many of her works, as well as annual portraits she creates of herself to mark the passing of time and her current physical state. Cats have a long history of representation in Japanese art and culture, from the golden maneki-neko cat sculptures welcoming business, to contemporary meme culture that is saturated with their antics. When asked her cats’ names, the artist is hesitant to share, stating it will compromise her passwords. These feline friends represent an untamed wildness that exists and has adapted to our human circumstances. There is no button to translate their love, affection, or feelings. Only in time spent in the studio drawing can we peer into their attitudes, affection, and unconditional love that serve as reminders of the fleeting moments we have together.

Dennis Nance is an artist and curator based in Houston, TX. He has served as the Curator for the Galveston Arts Center since 2016 and served as Director of Exhibitions and Programming for Lawndale Arts Center in Houston, TX from 2007-2016. He previously worked for the Cultural Affairs Department of the Consulate-General of Japan at Houston and participated in the Japan-Exchange and Teaching Program as an Assistant Language Teacher in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.