Tryon Fine Arts Center (TFAC) unveils a new exhibit, Eric McRay: Contemporary Modernist, in Gallery I on Friday, Jan. 27. A free, public reception will be held from 5 – 7 p.m., featuring a talk from artist Eric McRay.

McRay received a BFA degree at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where he earned a four-year scholarship for his artistic talent. A native of Washington, D.C., McRay moved to North Carolina and has been exhibiting since 1987.

In November 1998, he was juried into Raleigh’s Artspace. Since opening his Artspace studio in downtown Raleigh, McRay has served in the offices of vice president and president of the Artspace Artists Association, as well as served on Artspace’s board of directors and executive committee.

Some of McRay’s collectors include the SAS Institute, American Tobacco Campus, North Carolina Central University Art Museum, Duke University Medical Center, Duke Health Raleigh Hospital, NC State University, UNC – Chapel Hill and Western Wake Hospital, as well as many private collectors locally, nationally and internationally.

McRay’s guiding principle is that an artist’s style is his visual language by which he communicates. “I believe there is no single correct pictorial solution,” says McRay.

Eric McRay: Contemporary Modernist will be on display in Gallery I from Jan. 27 through March 4. More information is available at tryonarts.org or by calling 828-859-8322.

– article submitted by Michelle Fleming