Charles Ray

The fourth in a series of publications commemorating Glenstone Museum's series of exhibitions by American artist Charles Ray (born 1953), this slim volume assesses Ray's wide-ranging sculptural practice through a roundtable discussion with the artist, art historian Jason E. Smith, curator Jack Bankowsky and Glenstone director Emily Wei Rales.

American artist Charles Ray (born 1953) has devoted most of the past decade to creating sculptures of figures, animals and inanimate objects, often carved from blocks of metal in a state-of-the-art process that combines skilled handwork with industrial technology. This monograph reflects on the fabrication and installation of Adam and Eve (2023), a major sculpture by Ray that is currently on view at Manhattan West, Brookfield Properties’ development adjacent to Moynihan Train Hall and Madison Square Garden. The sculpture, which depicts the biblical figures Adam and Eve in their old age, consists of two large-scale humans rendered in solid stainless steel at nearly 10 feet tall. A significant and highly personal text by art historian Darby English, exploring this work and Ray’s illustrious career, is accompanied by extensive photography illustrating the installed sculptures and their creation.

The diverse sculptural practice of American sculptor Charles Ray (born 1953) has long challenged perceptions of scale, material and subject matter, necessitating multiple viewings over time. Charles Ray: Volume III is part of an ongoing series of publications commemorating rotating exhibitions of the artist’s work at Glenstone Museum, the third of which opened in the winter of 2021. Organized in close collaboration with the artist, the selections showcase Ray’s practice from early in his career to the present day, with four works ranging in material from concrete and steel to handmade paper used to realize a recent self-portrait, Return to the one (2020). This catalog includes documentation of the exhibition at Glenstone, an original essay by the artist, a contribution from art historian Anna Lovatt and an introduction by Emily Rales, cofounder and director of Glenstone Museum.

This catalog accompanies the 2022 double exhibition of Charles Ray’s work at the Centre Pompidou and the Bourse de Commerce (Pinault Foundation). With approximately 30 pieces that depict humans, plants and vehicles in his favored materials of wood and metal, this publication explores the artist’s critical relationship with Minimalism and the uncompromising perfectionism apparent in his work.
Whether recreating fallen trees down to every nook and cranny or conjuring a certain vulnerability in his life-size steel figures, Ray’s pieces are characterized by a formal intricacy that lends an almost uncanny realism to his sculptures in spite of their sometimes unusual scale. In his meticulous attention to detail, Ray invites viewers to examine his sculptures with similar intensity. Ray’s work, which clearly draws from a minimalist-formalist focus on material as it explores the possibilities of three-dimensional representation, resists classification and must be experienced on an individual level.
Based in Los Angeles, American artist Charles Ray (born 1953) has worked for decades across mediums and materials to create photography series, performance pieces and sculptures. Ray has been the subject of solo exhibitions around the world, and his work has been featured in Venice Biennales in 1993, 2003 and 2014, and in five Whitney Biennials. He is currently represented by Matthew Marks Gallery in New York.

This book is part of an ongoing series of publications commemorating rotating exhibitions of the artist’s work at Glenstone Museum, the second of which opened in Spring 2020. The catalog includes an essay by the artist, a contribution from art historian Russell Ferguson and an introduction by Emily Rales, cofounder and director of Glenstone Museum.

In his sculptural practice, American artist Charles Ray (born 1953) has long been fascinated by the concept of representation, the depiction of the human form and questions of scale. Known for his keen sense of—and respect for—the uncanny, Ray has carved a widely admired path that crisscrosses the arenas of minimalism and conceptual art, while continually pushing the boundaries of visual perception. This book marks the long-term exhibition of works at Glenstone Museum selected by the artist, including Baled Truck (2013), a sculpture made of solid machined stainless steel, emblematic of the artist’s meticulous fabrication process. It also includes a conversation with—and text by—the artist and installation photography.