HPU alumna Abigail (Brown) Rainey ’20 will present her first solo art exhibition August 23-October 6 at HPU’s Dorothy and Wendell Mayes Art Gallery in the Doakie Day Art Center. The exhibition is titled (Un)common Grace: All That I Don’t Deserve. Viewers are invited to attend the exhibition’s reception on Friday, August 23, from 6-8 p.m. and a workshop on Saturday, October 6, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the gallery. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

“Abi was a student of mine, and we have been in touch since that time,” said Julie Mize, adjunct art faculty member. “I have watched her ideas and abilities strengthen into what is now this amazing and expressive exhibit. Abi’s artworks have a gentle and graceful quality that, when you see their presentation as a whole, show a sense of strength which is grounded in her family and her faith. It is an honor that the university is able to host her first solo exhibition.”

The exhibition will highlight a recent collection of ongoing works she calls the (Un)common Grace Project. Rainey’s recent arts-based research engages with restorative theology and autobiographical narrative, drawing parallels between life’s small moments, memories, everyday objects, and the rich arc of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The works explore the concurrence of the common and sacred through overlapping transparent fabrics and multi-media renderings. Through these works, the artist participates in active archival – looking for, gathering, and celebrating small graces in everyday moments, circumstances, relationships and objects. 

For more information about Rainey, visit @abi_bydesign on Instagram.

HPU is now accepting applications for the spring 2025 semester. For more information visit www.hputx.edu/apply.