CHAMPAGNE CIRCLES Painting

david gray is a contemporary artist living and working in rye, new york, just outside new york city. after earning a b.f.a. with honors from syracuse university, he spent a decade as an award-winning creative director at some of the world’s leading advertising agencies before transitioning into commercial film direction, where he’s been working for over twenty years. painting has become an essential creative outlet alongside that work—a return to the medium that first drew him to visual storytelling. his paintings carry a cinematic quality: atmospheric, layered, and charged with emotion. they’re less about what you see than what you feel—an invitation to pause, remember, or simply be present with the work. gray describes his process as a balance of discipline and instinct. there’s structure, but also surrender—a willingness to let each piece evolve on its own terms. it’s both liberating and deeply personal. his work has found homes in private and corporate collections across the united states. while it’s bittersweet to see a painting leave the studio, he takes quiet satisfaction knowing it will continue its conversation elsewhere—in a living room, an office, a moment of reflection. each piece is meant to linger, to leave an impression that outlasts the first glance.