Van Ray Explained

Van Ray
Caption:"I want to believe" – paste-up by Van Ray
Birth Place:Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Birth Date:1984
Nationality:German
Movement:Street art

Van Ray (born 1984 in Düsseldorf) is a German artist.[1] His art, mostly characterized as street art or urban art, makes use of various stencil techniques on vintage materials. Van Ray works from Düsseldorf,[2] and is considered to be one of the most successful German urban art artists.[3] [4]

Career

Van Ray's career began with public graffiti at the end of the 90s when he started using his art to communicate with the general public and to demonstrate social criticism. His works were based on various techniques (including stencils, stickers, paste-ups, and sculptures) and meant to express his view of Western society.[1]

After moving to Cologne in 2007, Van Ray became the founder of the artist collaboration 'fancyroom' which concentrated on textile designs by combining elements of graffiti and graphic design. The results were used for own textile collections and by several fashion brands. The collaboration dissolved in 2010.[5]

At this time the public art of Van Ray was attracting the attention of several gallery owners, offering him to present his street art in their exhibitions. Consequently, the artist finally agreed to a first gallery exhibition in the winter of 2010, presenting his "streets on wood"-series in the 30Works Gallery, Cologne. Due to his public work, several solo as well as group exhibitions, live shows, art festival appearances, and panel discussions, Van Ray has since then become one of the most famous German street artists.[6]

In the course of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was invited by the Institut Pierre Werner to perform his art publicly during a live performance in Luxembourg.[7]

Techniques and themes

Van Ray's work is characterized by its detailed stencils on mostly rusty vintage materials such as iron sheets, vending machines and enamel signs or wooden slats.[8] The works nowadays reflect a fusion of street art and pop art, retaining the basic elements of his distinctive artistic style without losing sight of his intended social criticism.[9] On the relationship between art and protest, Van Ray commented:

"Rebellion does not derive from the use of a certain technique, but rather from the color of your tie."[10]

His works are all signed with the "duck signature symbol".[11]

Selected exhibitions and fairs

Literature

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Versall. Patrick. Mauerbotschafter. 20 August 2014. Letzebuerger Journal. 19 June 2014.
  2. http://www.widewalls.ch/artist/van-ray/ Van Ray
  3. http://www.report-k.de/Kultur/Kunst/What-If-It-s-All-A-Lie-30works-Galerie-Koeln-mit-Urban-Art-von-Van-Ray-43855 Van Ray
  4. http://www.widewalls.ch/van-ray-what-if-its-all-a-lie-at-30works-galerie-cologne/ Van Ray
  5. http://www.ipw.lu/de/van-ray/#.U_RZEWMkK1p Van Ray
  6. News: K. Nina. Van Ray. 20 August 2014. Widewalls. 11 July 2014.
  7. News: Street Art Begegnung. 20 August 2014. Institut Pierre Werner . 22 June 2014.
  8. News: Wickert. A. Update Street Art. 20 August 2014. NRW Museum . 24 August 2012.
  9. News: Streetart mit Punks und Kinder-Bauklötzen. 20 August 2014. Koeln.de. 17 August 2011.
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oye6JKPOx84 Street art – Van Ray
  11. News: Van Ray. 20 August 2014. Artes. 7 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821081923/http://www.kunsthaus-artes.de/de/777988/Bild-Monkeys-2013/777988.html. 21 August 2014. dead. dmy-all.
  12. News: K. Nina. Van Ray. 20 August 2014. Wide Walls. 19 June 2014.

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