San Francisco artist and collage genius Rex Ray passed away earlier today at age 58 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Gallery 16, which represented Ray (and where I first discovered his work) sent a statement to the media this afternoon noting that he was a "major cultural force in the art, literary, and activist communities in the Bay Area."
Ray was a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute who initially focused on creating materials for rock shows, Act Up rallies, and nightclubs, moving on to work with such major acts as The Residents and David Bowie, as well as creating book covers for City Lights.
I greatly admired the colorful, textured ovals and other '60s-style shapes that populated his canvases. I also appreciated that as an artist who was comfortable in fine and commercial art, his work was just as accessible printed on a set of postcards from Chronicle Books or as a framed piece from a Jonathan Adler store as it was being presented as a giant canvas in a gallery show. (I own one of his smaller pieces, a set of teal, surfboard-like ovals that I bought from one of those art-for-the-masses sites).
For a short take on Ray's history, technique, and style, this older video about a collaboration with Chronicle Books is a nice starter. He was a great San Francisco artist, and his work will be missed.
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Photo by Christina Cippas/Gallery 16