Erin Ashton Gray, born in Lafayette, Louisiana, graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor’s in Visual Arts concentrating in painting in December of 2016. In 2021, Gray followed her passions and began working at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, actively partnering with parishes throughout Acadiana to supply arts experiences to students in the public school system. She has shown work at Basin Arts, both in the gallery and through their Bare Walls program, and with ARCHIVES Exhibitions. Her work is guided by the bold influences of artists from the Abstract Expressionism and Impressionism periods. With a focus on capturing the raw energy of the natural world, she draws inspiration from nature's fluidity and transformative qualities. Gray’s paintings evoke a dialogue between the controlled and the chaotic, embodying the ever-changing rhythms of the natural world while inviting the viewer into a space of quiet contemplation.

Artist Statement: My work explores the ephemerality, fragility and power within nature. I am intrigued by the duality of opposition – active and static, illumination and obscurity, continuity and abeyance – qualities that mirror my own internal landscapes. These dualities are not just visual, but emotional. The use of contrast between light and dark creates dynamic visual tensions, evoking moments that feel both fleeting and eternal. Formal elements emphasize layered contours of organic forms, fluidity of pigment, and gestural mark-making, blending abstraction with a sense of movement and capturing the essence of nature as both transient and enduring. These pieces become suspended fragments of time, leaving traces of nature’s vitality – whispered acts of witnessing what cannot be held.