Jonathan Michael Ray
Jonathan Michael Ray
Dark Lith, 2023
Cornish Slate, enamel and steel
223 x 98 cm
7ft 3 ¾ x 3ft 2 ⅝ in.
““Collecting is at the heart of my practice. Objects, materials, ideas, process, words. This is my world-building; a complex and vague amalgamation of everything that helps me question and understand existence.””
Ray’s art practice is deeply connected to his surroundings. Comprising of sculpture, assemblage, photography, print, drawing, and video, the work takes inspiration from a variety of sources - from archaeological collections to sacred sites, fantasy, myth and science fiction.
Found objects and images are regularly used, as well as material direct from the landscape. Jonathan Michael Ray’s work concerns looking beyond the surface of a purely physical existence and breaking down the institutions by which we are taught to see and experience the world.
Born in 1984 in High Wycombe, Jonathan Michael Ray now lives and works in West Cornwall. After graduating from Nottingham Trent University in 2007 with a BA in Fine Art, Ray spent time as a sculptor’s assistant in Montréal, Canada. Through this experience, he began sculpting and started to cultivate his practice. In 2016, he graduated with an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art.
In 2021, Ray was selected to take part in Masterclass at Zabludowicz Collection, London, and was shortlisted for the National Sculpture Prize at the Broomhill Estate in Devon. He has been commissioned by Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens and the London School of Economics.
Jonathan Michael Ray has exhibited at Porthmeor Studios, St Ives; Galleria Ramo, in Como, Italy; the White Crypt Gallery, London; Tate St Ives; Last year his work was the subject of a two-person exhibition alongside Willeminha Barns-Graham at Tate St Ives, followed by a solo show at Anima Mundi Gallery, St Ives. He most recently had a solo exhibition titled The Voice in the Shadow, at Bo Lee & Workman in Bruton.
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