Every time I visit the Rio Grande Valley, I am shocked by how the passing of time becomes more evident each year. The palm trees along Old Expressway 83 from San Juan to McAllen have gotten taller. My early childhood neighborhood has no areas of flat land left. Expanded highways, new subdivisions, and new businesses occupy both pre-existing and newly established spaces. It’s been almost five years since I last lived in the Valley, so this growth has changed the energy of home altogether. It is this fleeting energy of time that Mayuko Ono Gray captures in “諸行無常_this too, shall pass,” which is currently on display at the International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) in McAllen.
Ono Gray’s artwork is deeply personal, and her compositions reflect her day-to-day experiences. For example, her three cats—Moxie, Squith, and Emily—are common subjects in the drawings she presents. Ono Gray explains, “I make work that really means [something] to me, and my cats mean so much so to me.”
The artist merges Western drawing aesthetics and Japanese calligraphy. Ono Gray studied fine art at the University of Houston, where she progressed as a painter until a near-death experience in 2007 urged her to draw subjects of her choice. Ono Gray’s interest in calligraphy stems from her childhood in Japan, where she practiced the art form tediously on Saturdays with her Sensei. The result of her experimentation with visual images and the written word is that they become one in Ono Gray’s work.
It’s likely that you’ve associated proverbs, or dichos, with certain people or moments in your life. Think of the South Texas dicho, “Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres” [“Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are”]. Phrases such as this one make you contemplate your life’s circumstances. One can examine any of Ono Gray’s still-life artworks combined with proverbs, which she renders through intense, continuous lines, as examples of the contemplative negotiation that the artist undertakes in her work.
One that stands out to me is “笑う門には福来たる_Laughter brings good fortune (Fortune cookies).” The artwork depicts two resting fortune cookies from Panda Express. The proverb on which the drawing is based— “laughter brings good fortune”— invites viewers to reflect on the moments of intimacy, humor, and connection that occur when you share a meal with loved ones. Moreover, the choice of fortune cookies recalls layered cultural histories: while Panda Express serves Chinese American cuisine, the fortune cookie itself originated with Japanese immigrants in California, who drew from the nineteenth-century Kyoto cracker called tsujiura senbei to create this now-common delicacy in the United States.
Next, Ono Gray also explores the concept of living beings and our creation and purpose. In an artist talk for a previous showing of this exhibit, she states, “I’m interested in the idea that we’re all made up of atoms… atoms are constantly moving, and nothing is still.” In “目に入れても痛くない_Apple of my eye (Mommy’s baby),” Ono Gray conveys one of her cats sleeping. The entire artwork is broken up by visual, repeated circles of graphite against a plain, white background, creating a grid effect that serves as a metaphor for numerous atoms bonded together. Through this quiet depiction of rest, Ono Gray suggests that even in stillness, life remains in motion.
Each year, Ono creates at least one self-portrait to document the physical signs of her aging. Her work, “形あるものいつかこわれる_ Anything that takes a form will break sooner or later (46),” borrows from the theme of the inevitable experience of getting older for all of humanity. In the drawing, the artist cradles her cat, Moxie, while staring off into space with a distant expression. The bubbles surrounding the artist represent her soul—an invisible part of her identity that is essential to her being. The act of holding her cat suggests comfort. Together, the elements of this drawing form the essence of the artist’s self.
In an email to me regarding this show, Ono Gray wrote, “The exhibition includes many new works I had never exhibited before… It’s been a marathon in my studio for the last few years, so having the opportunity to exhibit in a large space like IMAS was very meaningful to me. I really appreciate IMAS for this opportunity.” Presented in the Rio Grande Valley, “諸行無常_this too, shall pass” gains an added layer of meaning, as themes of impermanence, growth, and continuity resonate with a region shaped by constant change. Ono Gray’s work invites viewers to consider time not as something lost, but as something lived and embedded in bodies, objects, and places alike.
“諸行無常_this too, shall pass” is on display at the International Museum of Art & Science in McAllen through February 28, 2026.
