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.
Find Rex Ray art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Lucille Khornak Gallery)
1996 Oasis - San Francisco Original Vintage Poster
By Rex Ray
Located in Winchester, GB
This beautiful poster was created in 1996 to promote a live concert of Oasis at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. This tour marked the second attempt of the legendar...
Paper
Mixed-Media and Resin Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed media and resin collage by Rex Ray, signed by the artist. USA, 2007.
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resin Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A lovely example of Rex Ray’s graphic collage style. Rex Ray (1956-2015) was an American graphic designer and artist based in San Francisco. His work is in mus...
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resign Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed-media and resign collage by Rex Ray, untitled. Signed by the artist, USA, circa 2005.
Resin, Wood, Paper
$6,250
Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A lovely example of Rex Ray’s graphic collage style. Rex Ray (1956-2015) was an American graphic designer and artist based in San Francisco. His work is in mus...
Resin, Wood, Paper
1998 Beastie Boys - Portland Rose Garden Original Vintage Poster
By Rex Ray
Located in Winchester, GB
This beautiful vibrant poster is from the Beastie Boys concert at the Portland Rose Garden in 1998 with support from the likes of the great A Tribe Called Quest. The show saw the New...
Paper
$6,250
Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed media and resin collage by Rex Ray, signed by the artist. USA, 2006.
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resin Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed-media and resin collage by Rex Ray, untitled. Signed by the artist, USA, circa 2007.
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resin Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed-media and resin collage by Rex Ray, untitled. Signed by the artist, USA, circa 2007.
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resin Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed-media and resin collage by Rex Ray, signed by the artist. USA, 2007.
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resin Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed-media and resin collage by Rex Ray, signed by the artist. USA, 2004.
Resin, Wood, Paper
Mixed-Media and Resign Collage by Rex Ray
By Rex Ray
Located in San Francisco, CA
A mixed-media and resign collage by Rex Ray, untitled. Signed by the artist, USA, circa 2004.
Resin, Wood, Paper
1997 David Bowie - San Francisco Original Vintage Poster
By Rex Ray
Located in Winchester, GB
This brilliant poster is from David Bowie's 1997 concert at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, California. The show was in support of his album from the same year "Earthling" whi...
Paper
The Stone Roses Original Vintage Concert Poster, Blackpool, 1989
Located in Devon, GB
A large and striking silkscreen concert poster for The Stone Roses' seminal gig at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England, on Saturday 12th August 1989. Following the release of their eponymous debut album in May 1989, Manchester musicians Ian Brown...
Paper
$544Sale Price|20% Off
H 28.94 in W 18.71 in D 0.04 in
Original Vintage Poster by Bernard Buffet May 1958 Original Vintage Poster
By Bernard Buffet
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
Original vintage poster by Bernard Buffet May 1958.
Paper
$9,889 / item
H 106.7 in W 11.42 in D 0.4 in
Unique Reverso Room Divider in Variable Colors by Draga & Aurel
By Draga & Aurel
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique Reverso room divider by Draga & Aurel Price for each piece. Please contact us Unique piece Dimensions: W 29 H 271 Materials: Resin...
Brass
$4,600
H 39.8 in W 25.2 in D 0.1 in
FLY TWA SAN FRANCISCO Original Vintage Airline Travel Poster Constellation RARE
By David Klein
Located in Chicago, IL
FLY TWA - SAN FRANCISCO Authentic original vintage airline travel poster Condition: A- Dimensions: 25.2 x 39.8 in. / 64 x 101 cm. Circa: 1957 Linen Backed There are areas of restore...
Paper
Outdoor Privacy Screen – Acrylic and Stainless Steel
By Myface
Located in Santo Tirso, PT
Houdini - Outdoor screen The Houdini Screen is a modular partition that blends privacy with striking design. Composed of customizable panels in stainle...
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
Art Deco Garden Screen 3 Panels By André Fu Living
By André Fu
Located in Admiralty, HK
designed as a nod to the beauty of japanese zen gardens, this artfully designed movable screen is visually pure in its composition, yet intricate at the same time. crafted in solid a...
Ash
$4,000
H 39.2 in W 25.2 in D 0.1 in
UNITED AIR LINES - SAN FRANCISCO Original Vintage Airline Travel Poster
By Joseph Binder
Located in Chicago, IL
UNITED AIR LINES - SAN FRANCISCO Authentic original vintage midcentury airline travel poster Artist: Joseph Binder Condition: B+ Dimensions: 25 x 40.2 in. / 63.5 x 102 cm. Circa: 1957 Linen Backed The poster was folded twice vertically and horizontally; there are some extra creases along some of the fold lines; professional restoration has been performed to address fine surface paper loss along the fold lines and cross fold losses; this wonderful San Francisco travel poster...
Paper
$1,870
H 27 in W 22.5 in D 3 in
David Cheng Hong Kong 1961 Portrait of Scholar with Opium Pipe Oil Painting
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
David Cheng Hong Kong, 1961: Portrait of Scholar with Opium Pipe Oil Painting A compelling mid-century portrait by Hong Kong artist David Cheng, signed and dated 1961 lower right, d...
Canvas, Wood
Interlock Screen 3 Panels By André Fu Living
By André Fu
Located in Admiralty, HK
a timeless screen designed to integrate seamlessly into all interiors. be it used as a backdrop behind a sofa setting, or a partition besides a dining room, its ability to provide a degree of screening gives endless possibilities. crafted entirely with ash strips that interlock and thoughtful detailing that allows each panel to fully fold back, it is a piece to entice all spaces. Wooden screen with 3 foldable panels in oak with bronze detail on the top edge, with wooden hinges.
Bronze
$6,096 / item
H 76.38 in W 55.12 in D 78.75 in
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna Feng Two Folding Screen by Testatonda
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Testatonda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This screen is born as a collaboration with the Testatonda studio, a group of three young designers that the company has decided to focus on. Their aim is to design furniture and obj...
Metal
Poodleiscious Mixed Media Collage with Vintage Lace & Wood
Located in Hopewell, NJ
"Poodleiscious" is a mixed media visual symphony, celebrating the fifi-ness of poodles everywhere. With vintage lace, sheet music, violin, charms, applique form antique handkerchief...
Wood, Paper
$1,950Sale Price|30% Off
H 66 in W 55 in D 2.5 in
Mixed Media Collage of Antique Photographs and Letters by Ben Freeman
Located in Peabody, MA
A mixed media work by noted artist and photographer Ben Freeman. This large scale work features a collage of antique gentleman’s photographs and authentic ...
Lead
David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails Original US Concert Poster Proof, 1995
By Rex Ray
Located in Devon, GB
A rare uncut printer's proof poster by graphic designer and collage artist Rex Ray for a performance by David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails at the Shorelin...
Paper