Luminosity : Melinda Gray | You Are Not Separate From Us

Stained Glass, 20 x 22

“You are not separate from us.” A statement that can be seen as both political and deeply human, negating all politics. The statement is made in mirrored glass, reflecting yourself in the artwork. It is impossible to see and read the message, without seeing yourself in it. You are a vital part of the art. Luminosity - the light from within. You are that light, and the stained glass is reflecting and magnifying your beautiful image. The statement is meant to mimic the fracturing of ice in glass. The words breaking through, in your image. Please remember in any context, when it counts. “You are not separate from us.” It is the light that shines from within you, the audience, that makes my artwork come to life. 

BIO

Artist Melinda Gray is deeply rooted in the Bay area glass community, having taught stained glass locally for fourteen years. She lives the life of a working artist, teaching and repairing stained glass, in addition to making her own work. She has exhibited at many locations around the Bay, including previous shows at Abrams Gallery. Her work is often subversive, and is built on her degree in sculpture. She graduated from California College of the Arts in 2012, and decided the Bay was home. The topics of both home and community have continued to play a role in her art. Only 2% of foster children graduate college, a fact she would like to share about herself, being one of the most privileged. 

Professionally she has built and repaired many stained glass works around the Bay, including production and large-scale church windows at Grace Cathedral, St. Marry's and St. Vincent's. Melinda has also helped fabricate, and produce mosaic murals for both the Bay, and worldwide locations including Shanghai Disneyland. At age 16, she learned mosaics, and still has never stopped making them. Mosaic, Stained Glass, Sculpture, and drawing continue to be her long-standing mediums. Her work is meant to spark conversation, and often it is that conversation that she would consider the art itself, a social sculpture artist fundamentally.