Ralph Pugay (Born Cavite, Philippines, 1983)
Lives and works in Portland, Oregon

Ralph Pugay builds nonlinear worlds shaped by humor, contradiction, and the layered noise of contemporary culture. His works often unfold as loose fables or open-ended situations in which everyday absurdities, digital residue, and emotional undercurrents gather without insisting on resolution. Humor moves through the work as both tenderness and friction, allowing moments of surprise, discomfort, and care to coexist.

Pugay holds a BA and MFA in Contemporary Art Practice from Portland State University. His work has been exhibited widely, including at Adams & Ollman (Portland, OR), Cristin Tierney (New York, NY), AA|LA (Los Angeles, CA), Vox Populi (Philadelphia, PA), Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA), and Hallie Ford Museum of Art (Salem, OR). He has participated in residencies at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Rauschenberg Residency, the Joan Mitchell Center, Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. His accolades include the Betty Bowen Award, a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Award, and an Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship.

Artist bio courtesy of Ralph Pugay.