Over the past 40 years, Charles Ray has produced a majestic array of artistic touchstones within the contemporary sculptural vernacular. His orchestrated relationships between space and objects tempt the senses and baffle perceptual longings. Ray’s sculptures are the result of deeply considered compositions often requiring extraordinary amounts of labor, sometimes years in the making. Ray’s sculptural idioms question our basic ontology. He employs the power of awkward bodily relationships, which result in confrontational moments between work and viewer. He deploys a serious wit and, over the years, has engaged in an enormous amount of material inquiry. For many makers and admirers of contemporary art, Ray is a living legend. His recent sculptures remain conceptually challenging, materially lush, and beyond visually compelling. “Charles Ray: Sculpture 1997-2014” will be on view at the Art Institute of Chicago through October 4, 2015…see the entire article in the print version of July/August’s Sculpture magazine.
