Ralph Pugay

Portland, Oregon

Artworks shown are selected from works submitted by the artist in their grant or residency application. All works are copyright of the artist or artist’s estate.

About Ralph Pugay

Ralph Pugay holds an MFA in Contemporary Art Practice from Portland State University and is a residency graduate of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. Notable solo exhibitions of his work have been held at the Seattle Art Museum, Upfor, Vox Populi, and FAB Gallery (Richmond, VA), among others. Group exhibitions featuring Pugay’s work include the Portland2014 Biennial and the 2012 CoCA exhibition in Seattle. In 2016, Pugay collaborated with Ariana Jacob to create S.A.D Park: The World’s First Seasonal Affective Disorder Park in Portland OR. Formerly a visiting faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, he was recently appointed the James DePriest Visiting Professor of Art at Portland State University. Pugay’s honors include a Betty Bowen Award from the Seattle Art Museum, an Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant. He was recently awarded a Rauschenberg Residency Fellowship by The Ford Family Foundation.

Program Participation

Joan Mitchell Center Residency, 2018

Painters & Sculptors Grant, 2012

Website / Social Links

I am interested in how accessible signifiers can produce relationships that speak to the challenges of making sense of the world. Humor plays an indispensable role in my paintings—drawing viewers to consider what is simple and what is complex.”