Randy Wray

{{Short description|American painter and sculptor (born 1965)}}

Randy Wray (born 1965) is an American painter and sculptor who makes use of found objects and recycled materials. His work frequently blurs the boundaries between abstract and representational art.{{Cite web |last=Woolbright |first=Andrew Paul |date=2022-11-01 |title=Randy Wray: Travelogue |url=https://brooklynrail.org/2022/11/artseen/Randy-Wray-Travelogue |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=The Brooklyn Rail |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Ken |date=2005-06-17 |title=Art in Review; Randy Wray |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/arts/art-in-review-randy-wray.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Mayerson |first=Keith |date=2006-04-01 |title=Randy Wray |url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/randy-wray/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=BOMB Magazine}}

Wray was born in Reidsville, North Carolina.{{Cite web |title=Randy Wray |url=https://weatherspoonartmuseum.org/artist-maker/info/518 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Weatherspoon Art Museum}} He attended high school at University of North Carolina School of the Arts before receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art.{{Cite web |date=2013-09-06 |title=Sculptural Kudzu: Randy Wray as Interviewed by Kris Scheifele |url=https://nyartsmagazine.net/interview-with-randy-wray-by-kris-scheifele/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=NY Arts Magazine |language=en-US}}

Wray has exhibited at a wide range of venues,{{Cite web |last=Moody |first=Tom |title=Tom Moody on Randy Wray |url=https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/199702/randy-wray-52881 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Artforum |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Randy Wray |url=http://www.blackandwhiteartgallery.com/randywray |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Black & White Gallery |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Rubenstein |first=Raphael |date=2023-01-25 |title=From the Archives: Why Don’t Critics Make Judgments Anymore? |url=https://www.artnews.com/list/art-in-america/features/from-the-archives-why-dont-critics-make-judgments-anymore-1234654627/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=ARTnews |language=en-US}} such as White Columns,{{Cite web |title=White Room: Randy Wray |url=https://whitecolumns.org/exhibitions/white-room-randy-wray/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=White Columns |language=en}} 15 Orient,{{Cite web |title=Randy Wray: Travelogue |url=https://15orient.com/index.php/randy-wray-travelogue/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=15orient}} MAMOTH,{{Cite book |url=https://cdn.contemporaryartlibrary.org/store/doc/29803/docfile/original-1ac9aa48182fec12a8c7b8786b12a385.pdf |title=Randy Wray: Particulars |publisher=MAMOTH |year=2022 |location=London, UK |language=en}} Derek Eller Gallery,{{Cite web |date=2002 |title=Randy Wray |url=https://www.derekeller.com/exhibitions/randy-wray2 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Derek Eller Gallery |language=en}} MoMA PS1,{{Cite web |title=Randy Wray |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/73827 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}} the Socrates Sculpture Park,{{Cite web |title=Randy Wray |url=https://socratessculpturepark.org/artist/randy-wray/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Socrates Sculpture Park |language=en}} and the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation.{{Cite news |date=April 18, 2012 |title=Randy Wray at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation |work=Art in Brooklyn |url=https://artinbrooklyn.com/2012/04/randy-wray-at-the-marie-walsh-sharpe-art-foundation-space-program/}} His work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Weatherspoon Art Museum.{{Cite web |title=Ickybana Offering (2007) |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/193321/ickybana-offering |website=The Art Institute of Chicago}} His awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Painting Fellowship, a Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Grant, and the inaugural Irving Sandler Prize.{{Cite web |title=Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program Awards Inaugural Irving Sandler Prize |url=https://www.thestudioprogram.com/news/sharpe-walentas-studio-program-awards-inaugural-irving-sandler-prize |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-19 |title=Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Grant Past Grant Recipients |url=https://paam.org/education/the-lillian-orlowsky-and-william-freed-grant/past-grant-recipients/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Provincetown Art Association and Museum |language=en-US}}