A million thank-yous to iconic art historian and critic Betty Ann Brown, for her essay in Art & Cake LA about Beyond/Within. A few highlights:
“The adamant physicality inherent in Ray’s use of materials recalls the work of Antoni Tapies (1923-2012), the Spanish master who worked with everything from socks to shirts, barbed wire to honey. Like Ray, Tapies developed his own language of marks (bars, Xs, crosses, etc.) and arrayed them across canvases that resemble ancient artifacts. American artist Cy Twombly (1928-2011) and Italian master Alberto Burri (1915-1995) similarly explored mark making–scribbles, graffiti, and calligraphy–as the essence of their paintings. Tapies, Burri and Twombly stand as potent predecessors for Ray.”
and…
“Perhaps this exhibition gives us insight into an alternative existence when birds read runes. Perhaps they worship in the Rothko-like stillness framed by the black voids of Ray’s paintings. The relationship between the birds and texts remains mysterious. You will have to go to the chapel-like installation at Launch Gallery to decide for yourself.”
Read the full essay here. Truly a tour de force.