Shray Bronze: Olympic Landscape Sculpture Design Contest Update (May 2008)
Current Press Release, May 2008
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Olympic Sculptor Shray - her Sculpture "Forevermore" Presented to Yunan
Government of China.
TWO MEN, ONE CENTURY - At the Governor's office at the State Capital in Sacramento, California WW II vet, Ken Mecham, and Olympic sculptor Shray presented Shray's sculpture, Forevermore, to the Director of the California Arts Council, Muriel Johnson who, in turn, gifted it to Professor Yuan, Chairman 2008 Beijing Olympic Landscape Competition, for the Yunnan Government
Sept 2007 - The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games
Chooses Sacramento, California to Launch the 2008 Olympic
Landscape Sculpture Design Contest and Exhibition (Press Release)
August 2007 - Sacramento Union newspaper article
Sacramento Gallery Hosts ’08 Olympic Art (html)
Sacramento Gallery Hosts ’08 Olympic Art (pdf)
SHRAY'S SCULPTURE GARNERS OLYMPIC PRAISE
Excerpts from Beijing Olympics Congratulatory Letter
Dear Shray,
We salute to you from Beijing. Thanks for your interest and participation in the “Contest for the Landscape Sculptures of the 2008 Olympic Games.” As this contest is an important social cultural activity for the 29th Olympic Games, we have received over 2,433 pieces/sets of designs from 82 countries around the world since it was started up on Aug. 8, 2005. On Mar. 7 and 8, 2006, after the examination and appraisal of the 17 international judges from China, Britain, United States, Italy, Germany, Austria and South Korea etc., 386 pieces/sets of designs were selected and became the excellent and qualified artworks to go to win the medals.
We congratulate you that your design is one of those.
The Organizing Committee of Contest for the
Landscape Sculptures of the 2008 Olympics Games
Shray's sculpture "Raising Tomorrow's Olympic Champions." Click on image at left for larger version.
Top-rated Finalist
The work of bronze sculptor Shray reaches beyond place and time, gently speaking to people. This year, it also reaches beyond borders as her work travels throughout China and the world as a top-rated finalist in the sculpture competition for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Director for the competition and renowned artist, Yuan Xikun, and General Secretary Zou Wen lead the international effort. "My piece honors parents worldwide who nurture the Olympic dream," said Shray, sharing the victory with Alan Osborne's Art Foundry team. "Art is a bridge," said Osborne. " China, with its rich cultural heritage is embracing the universal language of art."
Having reached the finals, Shray's piece is traveling throughout China and has been placed on China's Olympics website.
Olympic Ceremonies
Tianjin, China - Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Landscape
Sculpture Design Contest
Olympic Sculptures Go on Tour in China
BEIJING, CHINA — After a ten-day show in Beijing, the 290 pieces of landscape sculptures designed for the 2008 Olympic Games will continue to appear in neighboring city of Tianjin.
The exhibition in Tianjin, a co-host city of the 29th Olympiad, is to open on July 8, and following their stay there, the art works will continue their journey in Xiamen, Zhengzhou, Changchun,Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang, Ningbo, Nanning, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, local newspaper "The First" quoted Yuan Xikun, organizer of the sculpture contest as saying.
The works were selected from hundreds of contributions in the design campaign started in 2005. Experts' judgment plus public voting will result in the most excellent sculptures to be used in landscape schemes for the Olympic Games.
BEIJING CHINA - SUMMER 2007
Shray's sculpture is part of the Landscape Sculpture Tour of China
BEIJING, CHINA — Over 290 pieces and sets of landscape sculptures designed for the 2008 Olympic Games started their tour in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province in northwestern China on Friday.
The day, Sept. 8, 2006, marked the 700-day countdown to the opening of the Games. A ceremony to introduce the exhibits was held with the attendance of local residents and Vice-Governor Li Ying as well as Executive Vice-president of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) Jiang Xiaoyu.
The exhibits, made of bronze, iron, aluminum and stainless steel were chosen from a 7-month design contest in which artists from over 80 countries and regions contributed their works. The sculptures involve almost every Olympic sport and skillfully demonstrate the Olympic spirit.
The short-listed entries started to be displayed on June 23 this year in Beijing, followed by the Olympic co-host city of Tianjin, northeastern city of Changchun and southeastern city of Xiamen, with overwhelmingly warm reaction from the viewers.
The sculptures will continue to tour other cities in China and abroad till the end of 2007 when the most excellent of them will outstand on the basis of public vote and experts' appraisal.
SUMMER 2006
Arts & Antiques Magazine
Sculptor Shray reaches out to collectors through her fluid bronze renditions of human emotion. This summer, that reach extends beyond these borders when her sculpture, “Raising Tomorrow’s Olympic Champions” (left), embarks on a worldwide tour beginning in Beijing to represent the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Invited to submit a sculpture for the games’ 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Design Contest ...
“My piece honors parents worldwide who nurture the Olympic dream,” she explains. “I’m so grateful the committee reached across the ocean to invite American artists to participate in such an auspicious event, especially since art knows no borders or boundaries.
Author Tara Wilfong, copyrighted and reprint courtesy of Arts and Antiques
Bejing 2008 Olympic Landscape Design Contest
I'm sure that all artists from around the world who are participating in this upcoming exciting event are as delighted and honored as I am.
Article: 2008 Olympic Ornamental Sculpture Show Opens
JULY 2006
Olympic Bronze Sculptor Shray Garners Highest Rating for
2008 Beijing Olympics Sculpture Contest (press release)
The organizing committee of the Bejing 2008 Olympic Landscape Design Contest, chaired by Mr. Yuan XiKun, invited bronze sculptor Shray to participate in the contest.
JUNE 2006
"WINNING THE OLYMPIC BRONZE"
Excerpts of article in July issue of Arts and Antiques magazine by Tara N. Wilfong.
"SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - Sculptor Shray reaches out to collectors through her fluid bronze renditions of human emotion. This summer, that reach extends beyond these borders when her sculpture, "Raising Tomorrow's Olympic Champions", embarks on tour beginning in Beijing China to represent to 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Photo above, from left to right: Arts and Antiques Magazine publisher, William Besch, Shray and her friends.
SUMMER 2006
Arts and Antiques Magazine
Excerpts of article in June issue of Arts and Antiques magazine by Tara N. Wilfong.
"Bronze sculptor Shray has always been fascinated by the complexity of human emotions. Her works celebrate the beauty, kindness and gentleness of humanity, while embracing life and movement in her chosen medium." Read More
May 2006
“I am very honored that my piece has been selected as a finalist in the Olympic Sculpture Competition. I am also excited to share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Alan Osborne, owner of the Art Foundry in Sacramanto, California, where my work comes to life. It was his support and decades of experience that made my Olympic dream a reality. I also want to acknowledge the Art Foundry team and the 2008 Olympic Organizing Committee for helping create this hallmark achievement in my career.”
— Shray
Bronze to Travel China as part of Olympic Celebration
A bronze created by Shray was selected as a finalist in an international sculpture competition presented in conjunction with the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. "Raising Tomorrow's Olympic Champions" has been chosen from a field of more than 3000 entries to become one of 290 artists competing for a Olympic medal. The show will travel throughout major cities in China.
The competition was led by Yuan Xikun, a master painter who is widely known for his 160 portraits of world leaders. Shray’s sculpture, along those by other finalists, will be part of a six-month long traveling exhibition that will coincide with events leading up to the Olympic Games. All the sculptures depict some aspect of the Olympics and affirm the international nature of the games.
The committee asked that artists portray the universal human spirit that is exemplified by the Games.
“To participate in such a global event is a great privilege,” said Shray. “The Olympics celebrate our commonly held values. The Games bring out the best in everyone”
Shray’s sculptures are characterized by fluid and graceful lines that give her pieces a strong emotional quality. She uses the unusual “subtractionist” method to coax the form from blocks of clay. “I can’t always explain what happens,” Shray said. “My hands move and take pieces of clay away and I somehow discover the form that is waiting to be created.”
Shray is widely collected and is shown in some of the nation’s most prestigious galleries. She is currently working on a new series of releases.
February 2006
Chinese Olympic Committee Invites Shray's Participation
Shray is one of the select international artists to be invited to submit a piece for a major sculptural exhibition planned for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. The competition is being directed by the Olympic Organizing Committee for Landscape Sculpture, led by noted artist and sculptor Yuan Xikun. The works chosen by the committee will be shown at major venues in China and become part of the visual display planned by the host country.
"I am very flattered to have been asked to offer my work for consideration," said Shray. "I am grateful to the committee for reaching out across an ocean to invite an American artist to contribute to such an auspicious event."
The committee is soliciting artworks that represent the spirit of the Olympics and the global community of competitors who participate in the Games. "No matter where people come from or what language they speak, the Olympics unites people," Shray noted. "Competitors share a demand for personal excellence, a pride in their country and respect for each other. Artwork also traverses geographical borders and gives us something wonderful to share, to have in common."
The works submitted to the committee will be evaluated for many months before gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded. During that time, the works will be on display in select cities in China and available for viewing by the public.
Inspiration for my Olympic Piece
While I was creating my new "Artist Nostalgia" series, I was invited by the Olympic Committee in Beijing, China to participate in the 2008 Olympics Sculpture Competition.
At the time, I was reducing "As One" to a smaller size. The parents in "As One" are holding a newborn baby in the air in celebration of new life and all the potential it holds.
I was inspired by "As One" to create "Raising Tomorrow's Olympic Champions," wherein younger parents are holding a 4-year-old. I envisioned this monumental piece becoming an interactive sculpture, surrounded by Olympic rings that children would play on. My hope in this vision is that it encourages children to honor their parents, reminds parents to uplift their children and reinforces the power of Olympic dreams. Those dreams can be about achieving excellence in sports, or becoming a great teacher, writer, poet, artist or parent. The dream is as individual as is the dreamer.
This piece was selected by the jurors as a finalist in the 2008 Olympics Sculpture Competition.
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