Exhibit showcases Art Director's work

By homericus6

Raton : NM : USA | about 1 month ago

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NOTE: This article originally appeared under my byline in the Raton Range, February 5, 2010 issue.

A few years ago, Ray Wolf began making a major change in what he does as an artist. A few months ago, he also began adjusting to his role in helping lead Raton's arts community.

A one-man show of Wolf's abstract paintings--a style he transitioned to in recent years--went on display Thursday at the Old Pass Gallery.

Wolf is the executive director of the Raton Arts and Humanities Council. He moved to Raton from Kansas City, Mo., assuming his new position late last year. A reception for what Wolf believes is probably his first full-fledged one-man abstract exhibit was held at the gallery starting at 6 p.m. The show will be on display through Feb. 19.

"Another exhibit we had hoped to have fell through, so there was an opportunity for this show," Wolf said. "It's good timing, and it is another way for me to introduce myself to the community."

The largest of the paiExhibit showcases Art Director's work ntings featured in the show is 5 feet by 6 feet, with three others being 4 feet by 5 feet and the smallest about 25 by 25 inches. One of the paintings is a triptych, consisting of three panels, placed side by side.

Making the transition to abstract art was not easy for Wolf, who has been a professional artist since 1972. Having worked in both photorealistic and impressionistic forms of art for more than 30 years--using Native American, landscape and other themes--Wolf found himself getting bored.

"I was with my wife, touring the galleries in Madrid, N.M., when I had this powerful feeling come over me," Wolf says. "When we walked out of that last gallery I told her that I was going to become an abstract artist. She looked at me like I was a crazy man."

"It was a 180-degree turn. I had to learn to let my mind roam free. I don't start out with any preconceptions. I try to look at the canvas with my mind's eye and let the color live where it wants to live on the canvas. If you do these things, the piece will always speak to the observer."

A self-taught artist of mixed German-American and Native-American heritage, Wolf credits his parents with allowing him the freedom to express his artistic feelings without restraint. When asked how long it takes him to finish a painting, Wolf replies that it takes him all his life.

"Every brush stroke and drawing that I have ever done has brought me to finish each painting," he says.

Wolf likes to work with a limited number of colors, beginning with charcoal lines on the canvas, and using gauze to supply texture to his artwork. Small details--for example, an old license plate or a postage stamp--are sometimes featured in his work. He says his artwork is in a state of continual growth.

Having exhibited his paintings at galleries in Taos and Santa Fe, among others, Wolf thought the time had come for a one-man show of his abstract art.

As executive director of the local arts council, making Raton a destination for artists, art dealers and the art-buying public is one of Wolf's key goals. Displaying art by regional and national artists is also a part of his mission in the Raton arts community, he explains.

"I hope you can envision, with me, Raton bringing the essence of the arts--creativity, aesthetic enjoyment and personal fulfillment--to the center of our community life," he says.