Tuesday Art ATTACK- Charles Ray "Plank Piece I-II" (1973)

Charles Ray is a contemporary sculptor in based in the Los Angeles region. He received his BFA from the University of Iowa. He then went onto receive his MFA from Rutgers University. In his college years, Ray's inspirations came from the developments in the Modernist sculpture movement. 

He continued sculpting after graduating and was given his first solo show in 1971. The show was titled "One-Stop Gallery" and is credited with redirecting the canon of 20th century sculpture. Ray's work is thought to fully encapsulate motifs of modern sculpture because it appeals to no particular period. 

 Throughout his career Ray's work is tends to dip in and out of minimalism. On the other hand he goes through phases were the sculptures require massive amounts of labor. I like this about him because his process is never stagnant. It is always changing dependent on what his interests are at the time. Ray has been the recipient of several awards and has been shown in many prestigious institutions, such as MOCA as well as the Whitney.

In 2009, Ray installed his first ever outdoor sculpture which triggered his interest in working outside, installing work outside of the gallery setting. He did several commissioned outside installations across major cities in Italy and France. Most recently in 2015, the Art Institute of Chicago held a large one man retrospective of Ray's work focusing on the years 1997-2014. 

On view at The Broad in Los Angeles.