Although most of the work in "the Private" has never been publicly seen, there are a few exceptions.  In the 1980's Friend Gay's drawings were in a number of exhibitions in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Paris, including a solo exhibition of her large scale drawings at Allan Stone Gallery in New York City in 1987.  In 1985, Friend Gay received a grant from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts for the drawing series; fifteen of which are in the collection of the Boston Public Library, bequeathed by the John Marion estate.

Hailed as a "major tour-de-force" by one critic, the works shown during this period garnered international media attention, including publication of images in Playboy, Penthouse, and Gunnar's, and an article about Dixie work featured on The Playboy Channel. In 1987, in response to her solo exhibition at Allan Stone Gallery in New York, ArtSpeak critic Cecily Barth Firestein said of Friend Gay's wok, "her large ink on paper drawings, carried out with great technical skill and imagination, have enormous impact"  [Friend]Gay's drawings are studies in sexual abandonment. The compositions are fantasy creations of people who resemble émigrés from Gray's Anatomy cavorting in a sensual world of horticultural exoticism, according to Firestein.

Dixie Friend Gay grew up on a ranch in Western Oklahoma and graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern Oklahoma State University with a degree in Art Education. In 1980 she and her husband Ron Gay moved to the East Coast where she studied studio arts at New York University. She earned a MA at NYU. In 1989 she and her family moved to Houston

Friend Gay's work has been shown regionally, nationally and internationally; her work is in corporate, individual and museum collections in Texas and across the country. Her art has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions, including the Bronx Museum in New York, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, the Amarillo Art Museum, and the Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria.

She is also known for her public art projects including Houston Bayou at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Terminal B (2002) and Solstice at Sylvan Rodriquez Park in Clear Lake.  She currently is working on projects for the new Indianapolis Airport, the City of Austin, the University of Houston Sugarland Campus, and the Houston Metro Solutions Intermodal Terminal. 

Friend Gay has been the recipient of numerous awards, including American Institute of Architects (Houston Chapter) 2006 Artist of the Year, Texas Accountants and Lawyers for Arts 2003 Artist of the Year, and Texas Commission on the Arts 2003 Texas State Artist of the Year ((Three Dimensional), as well as inclusion in the prestigious New American Talent 19 Exhibition (2004).  Her civic art project Houston Bayou was recognized in the 2002 Art in America's Art in Review.  

Each year, Art League Houston honors those whose work or patronage has had a significant and positive impact on contemporary visual arts in Texas. In 1983, Art League Houston created the Texas Artist of the Year award as a dynamic and informative annual project that documents Texas art history. Through this program, tribute is paid to outstanding visual artists and visual arts patrons in the state. Since its inception, Twenty-three outstanding artists and four exceptional patrons have been awarded the Texas Artist of the Year. 2007 Texas Artist of the Year is Dixie Friend Gay.  The 2007 Texas Patron of the Year has been awarded to Gus Kopriva.

A companion exhibition that highlights Friend Gay's work in the realm of public or civic art projects, entitled "the Public" will take place at the Houston Chapter of the American Institute Architects (AIA Houston) from Oct. 4 - Nov. 28, 2007, with an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 4, 6-8 p.m.  For more information on this event, call 713-520-0155 or visit its website at www.aiahouston.org.

Art League Houston is one of Houston's longest operating non-profit visual arts organizations and was the first alternative art space in Texas. Founded in 1948 and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1953, Art League Houston (ALH) was created to promote the public appreciation of and interest in the visual arts. During the past 57 years, ALH has provided over 760 exhibitions to the Houston community, showcased the work of nearly 22,200 artists, and instructed over 35,000 students through the Art League School and Outreach Program.

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