(Visual Art/Mixed Media)
Location: Artspace, Lobby
 
Eric McRay presents My Beauty Has Value, a body of work created in the medium of collage (papier collé). Through this work McRay proclaims his appreciation of the African-American female.  To construct these works he utilizes painted papers, photographic reproductions, snippets of photographs, scraps of fabric, elements from magazines, cut and torn paper, water media, and acrylic paint.
 
McRay earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD, in 1987. After training as a designer and working in financial services and computer sales, McRay began pursuing fine art full-time. His work has been exhibited throughout the US and can be found in numerous corporate collections including at the American Tobacco Campus, Duke University Medical Center, NC State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, SAS Institute, and Western Wake Hospital. In 2001 The News & Observer named McRay one of their Artists to Watch. Metro Magazine named McRay Best Local Artist for 2008.