Van Ray

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Carsten van Ray , called Van Ray (* 1984 in Düsseldorf ) is a German artist . In his art, he combines detailed stencil graffiti with evidence of consumer society and, in an ironic way, draws on key stimuli from modern pop culture . His art is mostly assigned to street art , pop art or urban art . Van Ray is considered one of the most successful German urban art artists. He works in Cologne .

Career

Poster "I want to believe" by Van Ray

Van Ray began his career painting graffiti in the late 1990s . His works increasingly served him as a means of communication with his environment and as an expression of social criticism. These public works were created using a variety of techniques including stencil, graffiti, poster, and sculpture.

After moving to Cologne in 2007, he and Philipp Pongratz founded the artist collaboration “fancyroom”, which had set itself the goal of combining graffiti and graphic design. The result were numerous textile designs that were both marketed in-house and designed on behalf of fashion labels. The collaboration broke up in 2010.

The appreciation for Van Ray's work in public spaces led to requests from gallery owners to present them at exhibitions. In winter 2010 the artist took part in his first exhibition (“Dirty Works” - 30Works Gallery, Cologne) with his “Streets on Woods” series . In the years that followed, Van Ray developed into one of the best-known German street artists through numerous works in public spaces, solo and group exhibitions, live performances and panel discussions.

In the course of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall , Van Ray was invited by the Pierre Werner Institute to a public live performance in Luxembourg in 2014 .

Techniques and Topics

Van Ray's use of a special rusting technique and detailed stencil graffiti is characteristic of his work . Old materials such as steel, metal machines, enamel signs or wooden slats are mostly used as carrier material. The works reflect elements of street art as well as pop art.

Sometimes gently ironic, sometimes deliberately sardonically, he uses well-known advertising slogans, song titles and proverbs, which in the context of the picture can be interpreted as an explicit outcry against social grievances, consumerism and political omissions. In Van Ray's work, what is obviously beautiful and pleasing is placed in the context of ugly facts and thus broken in a socially critical way. With their clear formal language and the reduction to the essentials, Van Ray's works are downright factual.

Van Ray emphasized in an interview on the relationship between art and resistance:

"Rebellion is not characterized by the choice of a certain technique, but rather by the choice of tie color."

- Street art - Van Ray , Hessencam, 20 May 2014 (youtube video)

His works are always signed with his logo, a duck pictogram.

Exhibitions (selection)

  • 2020 - Queens & Vandals ( feat.Patrizia Casagranda ) , (gr), Art Gallery Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden.
  • 2020 - Art Bodensee , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Bodensee, Dornbirn.
  • 2020 - Art Karlsruhe , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Karlsruhe , Karlsruhe.
  • 2020 - London Art Fair , (me), Venet House Gallery @ London Art Fair, London.
  • 2019 - Dare , (see above), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2019 - AAF , (me), Venet-Haus Galerie @ AAF, Hamburg.
  • 2019 - Art Bodensee , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Bodensee, Dornbirn.
  • 2019 - Popeye No 2 , (gr), Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg.
  • 2019 - Metronome Festival , (left), Live Performance @ Metronome Festival, Prague.
  • 2019 - Art Karlsruhe , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Karlsruhe , Karlsruhe.
  • 2019 - Urban Works , (gr), Galerie Hegemann, Munich.
  • 2019 - London Art Fair , (me), Venet House Gallery @ London Art Fair, London.
  • 2018 - Never Let Idiots Ruin Your Day , (see above), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2018 - 5 Years , (see above), Venet-Haus Galerie, Ulm.
  • 2018 - Fair for Art Vienna , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Kunstmesse Wien, Vienna.
  • 2018 - Art Bodensee , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Bodensee, Dornbirn.
  • 2018 - Art Karlsruhe , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Karlsruhe , Karlsruhe.
  • 2018 - Rusted Reflections , ( see above ), Neue Kunst Galerie, Karlsruhe.
  • 2018 - London Art Fair , (me), Venet House Gallery @ London Art Fair, London.
  • 2017 - One Dollar Bill , (see above), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2017 - Sympathy for the Rebel , ( see above ), Museum of Bergkamen.
  • 2017 - Oxidated Optimism , ( see above ), Ahoy Gallery, Palma.
  • 2017 - Art Bodensee , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Bodensee, Dornbirn.
  • 2017 - Fuck Boring , (see above), Venet-Haus Galerie, Ulm.
  • 2017 - Wikam , (me), Neue Kunst Gallery @ Wikam, Vienna.
  • 2017 - Art Karlsruhe , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Karlsruhe , Karlsruhe.
  • 2017 - London Art Fair , (me), Venet House Gallery @ London Art Fair, London.
  • 2016 - Diamonds & Rust , (see above), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2016 - Art.Fair , (me), 30Works Galerie @ Art.Fair, Cologne.
  • 2016 - Wikam , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Wikam, Vienna.
  • 2016 - Not Limits , (gr), Galerie Hegemann, Munich.
  • 2016 - The Rust of Rebellion , (see above), 30works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2016 - Limits are made to be broken , ( see above ), Neue Kunst Galerie, Karlsruhe.
  • 2016 - Art Karlsruhe , (me), Neue Kunst Galerie @ Art Karlsruhe , Karlsruhe.
  • 2015 - GrossArtig , (gr), Galerie Hegemann, Munich (June to August 2015).
  • 2015 - Art.Fair , (me), 30Works Galerie @ Art.Fair, Cologne.
  • 2015 - What if it's all a lie? , (see above), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2015 - Stroke Art Fair , (me), 30Works Galerie @ Stroke Art Fair, Munich.
  • 2015 - Urban Beauty , (gr), Urban Art Gallery, Stuttgart.
  • 2015 - Stealing Graffiti is a crime , (gr), Galerie Kellermann, Düsseldorf.
  • 2014 - Urban Art Festival , (gr), KuFa, Luxembourg.
  • 2014 - Fuck You , (see above), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2014 - Urban Art , (gr), Galerie Hegemann, Munich.
  • 2014 - Street Art , (gr), Galerie am Dom, Kulturamt Wetzlar, Wetzlar.
  • 2013 - Van Ray , (see above), Galerie Wagner + Marks, Frankfurt.
  • 2013 - Dirty Works # 04 , (gr), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2012 - Expo for Mattia , (gr), Palazzo Filangieri, Naples.
  • 2012 - to wild to die , (gr), Galerie Alexandra Grass, Bielefeld.
  • 2012 - Dirty Works # 03 , (gr), ATM Gallery Berlin, Berlin.
  • 2011 - City Leaks , (gr), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.
  • 2011 - Van Ray , (see above), Plum Gallery, Shanghai.
  • 2011 - Dirty Works # 02 , (gr), 30Works Galerie, Cologne.

literature

  • Van Ray - What if it's all a lie? , 30works Gallery Cologne, 2015.
  • What if it's all a lie? , Design Issue, 4/2015.
  • Van Ray , Urban Shit, 5/2015.
  • Street Art Cologne , Anne Scherer, 2014.
  • Van Ray - Popup , 30works Gallery Cologne, 2014.
  • Van Ray , Widewalls, Nina K, 7/2014.
  • Wall Ambassador , Letzebuerger Journal, 8/2014.
  • Van Ray , Reflect, 3/2013.
  • Free on the street, expensive in the gallery , Bild Zeitung, 9/12/2011.
  • Fancy to [according to] magazine, 8/2010.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ambassador of the Wall . In: Letzebuerger Journal , June 19, 2014. Accessed August 20, 2014. 
  2. ↑ Van Ray Daniel Deininger, Report K , May 9, 2015. Accessed May 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ Van Ray Steve Gray, Widewalls , May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ Van Ray Nina K., Widewalls , July 11, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ www.slam-zine.de .
  6. ↑ umlaut-magazin.de .
  7. ^ Van Ray , Institut Pierre Werner , June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  8. ↑ Van Ray . In: Widewalls , July 11, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014. 
  9. ↑ Street Art Encounter . In: Institut Pierre Werner , June 22, 2014. Accessed August 20, 2014. 
  10. ↑ Update Street Art . In: NRW Museum , August 24, 2012. Accessed August 20, 2014. 
  11. ↑ Street art with punks and children's building blocks . In: Koeln.de , August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2014. 
  12. ↑ Pure Pop Art III . In: 30Works Galerie , October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. 
  13. ↑ Van Ray . In: Artes , May 7, 2014. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 20, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kunsthaus-artes.de 
  14. ↑ www.m-art-magazine .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ray, Van
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German artist
DATE OF BIRTH 1984
PLACE OF BIRTH Dusseldorf