Wray’s electric spiraling canvas throws us into the vortex as if we are Dorothy in Oz or Alice falling down the rabbit hole. In Untitled, a central white vortex undulates downwards creating an illusion of spiraling movement. To the right of the vortex arrows in peachy tones point downward in the direction of the spiral, like a hurricane of increasing energy. The painting is centered in a foundation of earthy tones—watery blues, sandy tans, and grassy greens—that are overlaid with vivid pastels of electric oranges. All of this is topped off with a foreground of thin sharp geometric lines as if thrown about onto the landscape. The soft blue blocks in the center harken back to Wray’s earlier education in architecture, with their precision acting as a necessary fulcrum to all else that goes awry around them. There is a clear sense of layering—one that is technically difficult to achieve in Abstract Expressionism—lending a trompe l’oeil effect of three dimensions, imparting a sense of background and foreground, static and energy, precision and expression.

At the time of this painting, Wray was teaching at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where he was known as a prodigious instructor from 1968 to 1982. One of the forerunners of the contemporary Houston art scene, Wray was a prolific worker, creating many abstract works and frequently exhibiting locally and nationally. Wray was included in the seminal 1985 Houston exhibit Fresh Paint: The Houston School, also at the MFAH. An early adopter of Abstract Expressionism, Wray discovered the style of painting when traveling throughout Europe as he completed his early art education in Germany after studying architecture at the University of Houston. Born in Houston, Wray spent most of his life living and working in Houston with his family.