{"id":3821,"date":"2015-06-05T01:02:31","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T05:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/?p=3821"},"modified":"2015-05-31T15:10:55","modified_gmt":"2015-05-31T19:10:55","slug":"in-memoriam-rex-ray-1956-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/articles\/in-memoriam-rex-ray-1956-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: Rex Ray (1956-2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rex-ray-discolaria\"<\/p>\n

Rex Ray passed away on 9 February 2015 after a 5-year battle with lymphoma. Ray was one of those rare breeds who was as successful as a graphic artist as he was as a fine artist. He made album art and posters for such luminaries as The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, David Bowie, and REM. And he maintained a studio practice that included photography, painting, and collage. \u201cHis exuberant canvases were so singularly his, made with a collage technique developed through trial and error over decades of constant work with the goal of describing his own particular sense of beauty,\u201d said long-time friend and gallerist Griff Williams. \u201cHe invented a way of working as an artist that was singularly his own. How many of us can say that?\u201d Ray combined sharp shapes, clean lines, a brilliant palette, and gorgeous patterns into psychedelic compositions. His work is represented by Gallery 16<\/a> in San Francisco, California and Conduit Gallery<\/a> in Dallas, Texas. It is also included in a number of permanent collections, most notably at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Jose Museum of Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Berkeley Art Museum. His 2005 collage painting Cyphellae<\/em> is on view through 3 May 2015 at the Akron Art Museum as part of the McNay Art Museum-organized exhibition \u201cBeauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This News and Notes item originally appeared in Issue Twelve. To see other News and Notes from the world of collage,\u00a0SUBSCRIBE<\/a>\u00a0to Kolaj or\u00a0PURCHASE ISSUE TWELVE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image:<\/strong>
\nDiscolaria<\/em>
\nby Rex Ray
\n108″x134″
\noil, acrylic, and mixed media on linen
\n2009
\nCourtesy of Gallery 16, San Francisco<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rex Ray passed away on 9 February 2015 after a 5-year battle with lymphoma. Ray was one of those rare breeds who was as successful as a graphic artist as he was as a fine artist. He made album art…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/rex-ray-discolaria.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QTD7-ZD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3701,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/issues\/issue-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":3821,"position":0},"title":"Issue 12","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"26 April 2015","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Kolaj Magazine is a quarterly, printed magazine about contemporary collage. We are interested in how collage is made, how collage is exhibited, and how collage is collected. We are interested in the role collage plays in contemporary visual culture. We provide quality exposure for contemporary collage art. Kolaj Magazine is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/kolaj12-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/kolaj12-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/kolaj12-cover.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12531,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/cut-and-paste-repeat\/","url_meta":{"origin":3821,"position":1},"title":"Cut and Paste. Repeat.","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"27 April 2022","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Together Colored Instant by Ray Beldner65\"x62\"x3\"; collage on 3\/4\" laser cut plywood; 2021. Courtesy of the artist. COLLAGE ON VIEW Ray Beldner: Cut and Paste. Repeat. at the Plaza Gallery in San Francisco, California, USA28 February-7 May 2022 With an affinity for scale, shape, color, and texture, Ray Beldner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/ray-beldner-the-together-colored-instant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/ray-beldner-the-together-colored-instant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/ray-beldner-the-together-colored-instant.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/ray-beldner-the-together-colored-instant.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3693,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/robert-jean-ray-at-the-rellik-tavern\/","url_meta":{"origin":3821,"position":2},"title":"Robert-Jean Ray at The Rellik Tavern","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"18 April 2015","format":"gallery","excerpt":"13 April-6 July 2013 Robert-Jean Ray: \"Urban Impulse\" The urban environment and improvisational jazz have fuelled Robert-Jean Ray's\u00a0creative journey for the last twenty years. Collage is the artistic discipline he\u00a0employs to convey the urban impulse. Both jazz and collage were born during the same era and, now, both have crossed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/robert-jean-ray-homage-to-matisse.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/robert-jean-ray-homage-to-matisse.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/robert-jean-ray-homage-to-matisse.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/robert-jean-ray-homage-to-matisse.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2278,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/notations-specimens-robert-ray-21ten-microgallery\/","url_meta":{"origin":3821,"position":3},"title":"“Notations and Specimens”: Robert Ray at 21Ten Microgallery","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"16 September 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"11 September-5 October 2013 Inspired by the art installations of Richard Tuttle and Robert Rauschenberg\u2019s scrap metal constructions (Gluts), Robert Ray\u2019s new collages have been created independent of a paper surface, allowing for the pieces to be displayed directly on a wall.","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/rray2-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/rray2-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/rray2-web.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/rray2-web.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10378,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/articles\/breaking-bread-with-the-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":3821,"position":4},"title":"Breaking Bread with the Dead","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"5 December 2020","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Valentine by Ray Johnsonmail art: bird wing and envelope. 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The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of the Ray Johnson Estate, courtesy of Frances Beatty. \u00a9 Ray Johnson \/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. 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