Rex Ray
Rex Ray was an American artist best known for his innovative Pop aesthetic in fine and commercial art — on canvases, wood panels, album covers, paper, book jackets, murals, and rock and roll posters.
Born in Landstuhl, Germany in 1956, Michael Patterson was raised in Colorado Springs. Before moving to San Francisco in 1981, Patterson, inspired by Andy Warhol, adopted the moniker Rex Ray. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute where he studied with Sam Tchakalian, Kathy Acker, and Angela Davis, and received his BFA in 1989. He became a major force in the Bay Area’s art, literary, and activist communities.
Ray was one of the first artists to use Mac-based technologies in the creative process to generate art and graphics. His early designs include the first graphics for the San Francisco chapter of Act Up; many guerilla marketing flyers and posters for queer nightclubs; and numerous book covers for City Lights Books and HIGH RISK/Serpent’s Tail.
Ray's impressive client roster in the music, fashion, entertainment, and design industries, includes David Bowie, The Residents, Bill Graham Presents, DreamWorks, Levis, Neiman Marcus, Sony Music, Warner Brothers, and Apple. Rex Ray designs have been licensed and produced as distinctive imagery on scarves, carpets, ceramics, wristwatches, surfboards, and even on a Mini Cooper.
During his lifetime Rex Ray generated a prolific body of painting and works on paper. His technique involved a complicated process that combined Xerography, handmade woodblock prints, newsprint, and magazine images into vibrant color schemes with parabolic forms and abstract patterns. His works reference mid-century modernism, Dada, decorative arts, Fluxus, and Pop art deployments associated with Andy Warhol and continue to speak to ideas of beauty during eras known for post-modernist and Conceptual ideologies.
Ray’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Akron Art Museum, Berkeley Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and more. Several books including Cut & Paste, Rex Ray: Art + Design, and Information feature images with writings about his career and artistic practice.
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(Biography provided by Lucille Khornak Gallery)
2010s Abstract Rex Ray
Wood, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Rex Ray
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
1990s Rex Ray
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
1990s American Rex Ray
Paper
1990s American Rex Ray
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Rex Ray
Resin, Wood, Paper
1950s Vintage Rex Ray
Paper
1980s Vintage Rex Ray
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Rex Ray
Canvas, Paint
2010s Abstract Rex Ray
Mixed Media, Wood, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Rex Ray
Canvas, Wood, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Rex Ray
Mixed Media, Wood, Wood Panel
1980s Contemporary Rex Ray
Lithograph
20th Century Modern Rex Ray
Wood, Paint, Paper
1980s Contemporary Rex Ray
Lithograph
2010s Contemporary Rex Ray
Lithograph
1940s American Vintage Rex Ray
Paper
1980s Danish Vintage Rex Ray
Paper
1990s American Post-Modern Rex Ray
Paper
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- When was Rex Ray born?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMay 30, 2024Rex Ray was born on September 11, 1956, on a military base in Germany, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Army. The American collage artist and graphic designer grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1981, he relocated to San Francisco, California, where he attended the San Francisco Art Institute. He continued to reside in San Francisco until his death in 2015. Explore a collection of Rex Ray art on 1stDibs.