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Solastalgia
San Jacinto College South Campus Gallery is proud to announce the opening of Solastalgia, a thought-provoking multimedia exhibition running from October 7th through December 6th, 2024. Curated by Houston artists Cathie Kayser and Ellen H Ray, Solastalgia explores the emotional impact of environmental change on local communities, particularly those in the Houston area. The exhibition brings together a collective of talented Houston artists: Heather L Johnson, Cathie Kayser, Cindee Klement, Renata Lucia, and Ellen H Ray.
Night House: a solo exhibition
Through drawings, paintings, objects, and my original ArtHouses, I explore actual and imagined experiences of the night, the intense energy of night, and make observations on the world turned over to itself as humans retreat indoors for rest. Show run September 14 - October 19, 2024. Ardest Gallery, 25200 Grogans Park Dr, The Woodlands, Texas 77380
RISE: the Inaugural Exhibition of Throughline Collective
Throughline is an artist-run space in Houston that showcases a diverse range of contemporary art and programming. It is home to a collective group of artists whose work stems from experimentation and research and is expressed in a wide range of mediums and disciplines. RISE was an introduction of 10 Throughline artists to the Houston art scene. For this exhibition I included two works which combined drawing, painting, and object to showcase the direction of my work towards an interdisciplinary practice.
Egg Stories
Egg Stories: a small group exhibition of artists who spent 2 years as a cohort in the studio intensive BLOCK program at Glassell School Of Art, Museum of Fine Art Houston from 2018 - 2020. Artists addressed themes of fragility and strength, origin stories, women's rights and body autonomy, as well as home, space, and the natural world.
For this exhibition, I created eight 3 dimensional objects while thinking about Bachelard's The Poetics of Space and a Victor Hugo quote defining the cathedral at Notre Dame as an "Egg, Nest, House, Country, Universe". Working in 3D has allowed me to play with scale in a way that I have not done in my 2D work.
These objects ask the question, "Are we giants living in a microscopic world, or are we but specks living in the whole wide macroscopic universe?" The answer, of course, is yes to both questions. 
Exhibition Statement: State of Mind is an exhibition of my paintings and drawings from 2019 through 2022, including work made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Though I have often stated that my work is informed by my meditation practice, this work is directly about what I experience while in meditation. Vibration patterns, sifting light energy, energy reorganizing, are all themes. The exhibition also included 365 small works from a daily meditation practice based on the book 365 Tao (Deng Ming-Dao). 64 small works were displayed in a grid, with the rest displayed as a bundle on a pedestal. (In gallery, look for works labeled State of Mind)
The Trees Are Talking: A site specific immersive installation designed to transform Tank Space Houston into an underland space, and imagined hideaway under and within a root system of a tree. There is much below our feet, beyond our ability to see - a world with which we have a relationship that needs tending. The Earth sustains us as a mother, a community, a friend. Sit beneath the root sytem to contemplate, meditate, sketch, or daydream. 
Seen & Unseen
a solo exhibition
February 27 - April 09, 2020
Lone Star - Cyfair Bosque Gallery
Cypress, Texas
Exhibition Statement: The work for this show was carefully crafted with the gallery space and the viewer experience in mind. I created 11 unstretched paintings on specially prepared jute fabric, all sized roughly 49" x 25", and 15 small works that measured 12" x 12". The large works were installed close together in a long row, side by side, 4 inches apart. This created an experience that kept the viewer moving in close, then backing away, in effort to see the collective, while still taking in the details. The small works hung in a grid and functioned as a key of sorts for the larger works. All together, the work was a representation of the vast amount of information and energy that is coming at us in every moment. Themes included vibration pattern, thought processes, microscopic and macroscopic organic forms. (In Gallery, look for works labeled "Seen & Unseen").
Ancestors:
New Works By Damon Thomas & Ellen Ray
September 04 - October 01, 2019
Jung Center, Houston
Houston, Texas
September 12, 2019- Discussion led by Dr. Anna Tahinci at Jung Center Houston
Exhibition Statement: This 2 person exhibition included 9 paintings and 11 drawings by Ellen H Ray, along with the narrative ceramic works of Damon Thomas. The paintings explored connections and relationships between humans and each other, and humans and the natural world. The drawings addressed 2 main themes: commonality of structure between organic life forms, and connection between the physical and spiritual worlds. The over reaching theme for the exhibition addressed Jungian theories on relationships, dreams, and consciousness. (In Gallery, look for works labeled "Ancestors").
Excavations:
Selected Works of Ellen Ray & Erik Hagen
October 12 - December 31, 2019
Gallery 200, The Silos at Sawyer Yards
Houston, Texas
November 09, 2019- Discussion moderated by Dr. Anna Tahinci
Exhibition Statement: Excavations examines the ways in which Humans relate to the Earth from the viewpoint of 2 artists. Ellen Ray takes on the spiritual and consciousness connections, while Hagen explores the geologic perspective. Themes include how the Earth holds memory, Human impact on the health of the Earth, and the ongoing separation between Humans and the natural world. (In Gallery, look for works labeled Excavations").
Without Borders/ Ohne Grenzen
AtelierHaus Artist Residency in Hilmsen, Germany
July 04 - August 01, 2019
Mönchskirche Cultural Center
Salzwedel, Germany
Exhibition Statement: A month long artist residency at AtelierHaus in Hilmsen, Germany culminated in an exhibition of works by 7 women artists. My monumental work, Inheritance, was a deeply personal exploration of my ancestral German roots. I spent a lot of time thinking about what it is that we all carry with us throughout our lives and how that impacts our lives and leads to our own legacy. Along with Inheritance, I exhibited 4 smaller paintings and 6 drawings. (In Gallery, look for works labeled "Germany").