Van Ray
b. 1984 German
The German street art artist Van Ray grew up under the influence of
the Parisian “Pochoir Movement” during the Eighties. As a result of
this early force of this kind of art, which prevalent implicates art
as an expression of social criticism in public, he began to express
his own view of society with the help of graffiti.
Due to personal maturation and developed abilities to deal with
ubiquitous social and political problems of the Western society Van
Ray broadened his artistic on hand skills by redeveloping methods
like using stencils, stickers, paste-ups and sculptures.
The German street art artist Van Ray grew up under the influence of the Parisian “Pochoir Movement” during the Eighties. As a result of this early force of this kind of art, which prevalent implicates art as an expression of social criticism in public, he began to express his own view of society with the help of graffiti.
Due to personal maturation and developed abilities to deal with ubiquitous social and political problems of the Western society Van Ray broadened his artistic on hand skills by redeveloping methods like using stencils, stickers, paste-ups and sculptures. This incremental development is also reflected in his public work. On the basis of his so far mastered artistic skills Van Ray was supervised in drawing and painting by the well known Susanne Ristow, this extensive process didn’t prevent him from simultaneous 3D animation and visualization experiments.
As a result of a personal wrap in 2007, accompanied by a movement to Cologne, Van Ray took this opportunity to establish the artist collaboration “fancyroom” which could be seen as an elaborate try to create a symbiosis of design and street art. The results were used by several textile manufactures as part of their products. Van Ray started simultaneously to offer general public access to mainly printed work by exhibitions.
Van Ray's work reflect a fusion of street art, pop art and contemporary art - retaining the basic elements of his distinctive artistic style without loosing sight of his intended social criticism. His recent work makes use of various techniques, such as aerosol paint, acrylic paint, collage and decollage, on iron sheets, acrylic glass, wooden slats or retro vending machines.
- Art Taichung 2021, Taichung, Taiwan
- One Offs NFT international art fair, Taipei, Taiwan
- WHAAAAAT'S art fair 2021, Taipei, Taiwan
- ONE ART Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
- Group show”LES EXPLORATEURS”, Knokke, Belgium
- Van Ray Solo Show, Gin Huang Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan
- Contemporary Istanbul (VR), virtual Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul
- X-Change, Venet-Haus Galerie and Galerie Hegemann, Ulm/Munich
- Sympathy (feat. Patrizia Casagranda), Neue Kunst Gallery, Karlsruhe
- Art Busan, Art Busan Korea, Busan
- Fair for Art Vienna, Kunstmesse Wien, Vienna
- Popeye No3, Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg
- Queens;Vandals(feat. Patrizia Casagranda), Art Gallery Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden
- Wikam, Neue Kunst Gallery Wikam, Vienna
- Art Karlsruhe, Neue Kunst Gallery Art Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
- London Art Fair, Venet-Haus Galerie London Art Fair, London
- Dare, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- AAF, Venet-Haus Galerie AAF, Hamburg
- Art Bodensee, Neue Kunst Gallery Art Bodensee, Dornbirn
- Popeye No2, Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg
- Metronome Festival, Live Performance, Prague
- Art Karlsruhe, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
- Urban Works, Galerie Hegemann, Munich
- London Art Fair, Venet-Haus Galerie London Art Fair, London
- Never Let Idiots Ruin Your Day, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- 5 Years, Venet-Haus Galerie, Ulm
- Fair for Art Vienna, Neue Kunst Gallery, Kunstmesse Wien, Vienna
- Art Bodensee, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Bodensee, Dornbirn
- Art Karlsruhe, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
- Rusted Reflections, Neue Kunst Gallery, Karlsruhe
- London Art Fair, Venet-Haus Galerie, London Art Fair, London
- One Dollar Bill, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- Sympathy for the Rebel, Museum of Bergkamen
- Oxidated Optimism, Ahoy Gallery, Palma
- Art Bodensee, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Bodensee, Dornbirn
- Fuck Boring, Venet-Haus Galerie, Ulm
- Wikam, Neue Kunst Gallery, Wikam, Vienna
- Art Karlsruhe, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
- London Art Fair, Venet-Haus Galerie, London Art Fair, London
- Diamonds Rust, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- Art.Fair, 30Works Gallery, Art.Fair, Cologne
- Wikam, Neue Kunst Gallery, Wikam, Vienna
- Art Bodensee, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Bodensee, Dornbirn
- Not Limits, Galerie Hegemann, Munich
- The Rust of Rebellion, 30works Gallery, Cologne
- Limits are made to be broken, Neue Kunst Gallery, Karlsruhe
- Art Karlsruhe, Neue Kunst Gallery, Art Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe
- GrossArtig, Galerie Hegemann, Munich
- Art.Fair, 30Works Galerie, Art.Fair, Cologne
- What if it's all a lie?, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- Stroke Art Fair, 30Works Gallery, Stroke Art Fair, Munich
- Urban Beauty, Urban Art Gallery, Stuttgart
- Stealing graffiti is a crime, Galerie Kellermann, Düsseldorf
- Urban Art Festival, KuFa, Luxembourg
- Fuck You, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- Urban Art, Gallery Hegemann, Munich
- Street Art, Gallery am Dom / Kulturamt Wetzlar, Wetzlar
- Van Ray, Gallery Wagner+Marks, Frankfurt
- Dirty Works #04, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- Expo for Mattia, Palazzo Filangieri, Naples
- to wild to die, Gallery Alexandra Grass, Bielefeld
- Dirty Works #03, ATM Gallery Berlin, Berlin
- City Leaks, 30Works Gallery, Cologne
- Van Ray, Plum Gallery, Shanghai
- Dirty Works #02, 30Works Gallery, Cologne