Conversations by Laura Ralls Duprey
July 8 - 25
Studio 116 is pleased to present an exhibition featuring recent paintings and ceramics by artist Laura Ralls Duprey, whose abstract works explore the evolving relationships between color, gesture, structure, and perception.
Approaching painting as an open-ended process rather than a fixed statement, Duprey creates works that emerge through layers of marks, revisions, and intuitive responses. Her paintings balance structure and spontaneity, allowing meaning to develop organically through the act of making.
“My work unfolds at the meeting point of structure and intuition,” says Duprey. “I approach painting as an active process rather than a predetermined image, allowing each piece to develop through a continual exchange between gesture, perception, and material.”
The exhibition highlights Duprey’s long-standing commitment to abstraction and material exploration. Built slowly over time, the surfaces of her paintings reveal traces of hesitation, clarity, interruption, and change. Rather than directing viewers toward a single interpretation, the work invites personal reflection and shifting perception.
About the Artist
Duprey earned a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University and has maintained an active studio practice for decades alongside a distinguished career in arts education. Her work has been exhibited throughout the Southeast, including exhibitions in Virginia, Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina. She is also a recipient of the North Carolina Regional Artist Project Grant and participated in the Robert Rauschenberg Residency at the Washington Lab School in Washington, D.C.