Everyday Leo Ray holds a paintbrush, dip pen, or etching needle in his hand, primes a canvas, or mixes paint, eager to find the perfect tone for capturing yet another act of Human comedy. For Ray, creation is integral to his daily existence. Every one of his artworks can be a part of a previously conceived idea or an extension of a scene born in his imagination. Ever-new nature-inspired subjects find their place in his creations—on paper, an etching, a calligraphy drawing, or colourful print—featuring two- or four-legged characters: a little donkey, bird, dog, cat, and even the man himself.
Contemplating Leo Ray’s art, we come to see the world around us through his lens—he directs the Human comedy through his art, seeking to capture reflections of the living world with his paintbrush or dip pen everyday.
Leo Ray was born in 1950, in Vilnius. In 1973, he graduated from Vilnius University, and in 1990, the Vilnius Academy of Arts. He moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1991. He then taught drawing, colouristics, painting, and calligraphy at the BASIS Art School. He currently teaches painting and calligraphy at the CAN New Artists Collegium, actively participates in group shows and holds solo exhibitions in Israel and abroad (Austria, Germany, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Japan, the US, etc.), exploring his creativity through painting, graphics, and calligraphy. Ray’s art was recognized when he was awarded a prize at the Lithuanian Medal Triennial (1987) and in 1998, by the Buchman Heyman Foundation, as well as 1st Prize at the International Small Engraving Salon (Baia Mare, Romania) two years later. The artist’s works can be found in the collections of the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History, and the Lithuanian National Museum of Art (both in Vilnius, Lithuania), the Museum of Israeli Art, and the Ein Harod Museum (Israel); Grafikens Hus, an international centre for fine art printmaking (Mariefred, Sweden), the Zagreb Museum of Arts (Croatia) and others.
PROJECT PROMOTER: Vilnius Gaon Museum of Jewish History