The Fresno City College Art Space Gallery is currently featuring the work of Jean Ray Laury in a show titled “One Woman’s Work”. The feature will be held until February 16.
According to Gallery Curator Edward Lund, the show is meant to honor the creative life that Laury lived before passing away last March at the age of 82.
An opening reception will be held during ArtHop on February 2. Food and drinks will be served, and many of the artist’s family and friends will be there.
Laury was an internationally renowned quilt artist. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, she moved to Fresno in the 50s where she married Frank Laury, an instructor at Fresno State.
After she passed away, much of her work was gifted to the school she graduated from. However, the Art Space Gallery at FCC is composed of work she had made for various family members over the years.
While Laury is well known for her quilts, with which there are many in the show, there is also much of her other types of art such as books she published and her appliqué pieces. A bio written by her family will also be featured.
“She did all these things, all the time, simultaneously,” said Lund. According to Lund, the show is not so much arranged to show any chronology, as it is meant to simply showcase everything she did.
As an artist, Laury created a range of bright, colorful pieces. According to a statement from her daughter Lizbeth Laury sent to the Art Space Gallery, she “constantly tried new materials, color ranges, methods of design application, and yet kept in mind the limits and advantages of each as well.” The same statement mentioned that Laury had a strong respect for nature and the world and those that surround her.
The Art Space Gallery Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, then 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The ArtHop opening reception on February 2 will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.