Charles Ray

Charles Ray

Oh! Charley, Charley, Charley... 

Mixed-media, 1992

Hinoki

Cyprus wood, 2007

Father Figure

Painted steel, 2007

The Examination 

Painted steel and human body, 1984

Family Romance

Mixed Media, 1993

Charles Ray was born in 1953 in Chicago, and works out of Los Angeles today. He uses a wide variety of mediums to create his sculpture, and his subjects are also diverse. However, they are all enigmatic and engage the viewer in personal and physical ways. Many of his sculptures make reference to toys, such as plastic model tractors, cars, or fire trucks, and also make use of the human form as a sculptural element. 

I chose to write about Charles Ray because his work inspires me. He uses the human body in ways that beg thought from the viewer, rather than presenting a body as a created object. His sculptures, in their scale and complexity, engage viewers in a way that many other sculptures don't. His work is also intensely personal, which is something I hope to achieve with my work. 

All photos/information taken from Charles Ray's website.