Ray L. Burggraf (born 1938) is an artist, color theorist, and Emeritus Professor of Fine Arts at Florida State University.Orlando Sentinel, ''Judges Have Extensive Art Backgrounds'', March 6, 1988, (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1988-03-06/features/0020280038_1_degree-in-fine-art-festival-fine-arts) According to Roald Nasgaard, Burggraf's paintings exhibit "visual excitation...pulsating patterns, vibrating after-images, weird illusionistic spaces, multifocal opticality, executed with knife-edge precision...crisp and elegant and radiant with light." From a historical perspective, Burggraf's work is "nature evocative...reach ngback to the modernist landscape tradition of the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

and of Neo-impressionists like Seurat, who, in the late-nineteenth century immersed themselves in the color theories of Chevreul and

Rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

" (Roald Nasgaard; former Chief Curator,

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...

, 2006).Nasgaard, Roald, ''Ray Burggraf: Retrospective'', Publisher: Florida State University Museum of Fine Art, Tallahassee, FL, January 1, 2006, ASIN: B005KDHE06 Using acrylic paint and wood—and sometimes Plexiglas and UV light—Burggraf frequently calls his paintings "color constructions", and they have been exhibited in the United States, Sweden, and Korea.2002 Flag Art Festival: Poetry of the Winds, FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, Publisher: Department of World Cup Cultural Affairs, 2002; 295 pages (https://books.google.com/books/about/2002_Flag_Art_Festival.html?id=SnxNHQAACAAJ).SVAD News, ''SVAD Faculty, Art'', Pg. 3, Fall 2002, Accessed March 2013, () In 1981, Burggraf became a founding member of the non-profit 621 Gallery in Tallahassee, FL, and served as its first President. In 2004, Burggraf collaborated with two other Florida State University faculty members in the creation of an exhibition called, ''A Mysterious Clarity''. The show debuted at the 621 Gallery,621 Gallery, Archive, 2004, ''A Mysterious Clarity'' (http://www.621gallery.org/exhibitionsevents/archive/2004.html) Accessed March 2013. and by popular demand, evolved into a traveling exhibition. It has been viewed by the public in at least nine different museums and galleries, including the Brevard Art Museum of Melbourne, FL.Melbourne Arts and Entertainment News, ''Mysterious Clarity'', Accessed March 2013, (http://www.americantowns.com/fl/melbourne/news/mysterious-clarity-116961)Brevard Cultural Alliance, (http://www.artsbrevard.org/calendar.html?task=view&vmode=e&viewid=16&eid=4280) Ray Burggraf's work demonstrates an extreme attention to technique, and has brought the role of environmentally-focused artwork to the forefront of debate among scholars (as reviewed by Kang, J.'s 2010 doctoral dissertation).

Life and career

Burggraf was born in Ohio in 1938. He obtained a BS at Ashland University in 1961; a BFA from the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at firs ...

in 1968; and an MFA from The

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

in 1970.Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, ''Ray Burggraf: March 4 - April 9, 2011'', (http://www.rauschenberggallery.com/2011/03/ray-burggraf/) In a statement published in 2010, Burggraf wrote that his observations regarding the industrialization of his hometown farming community served as the impetus for his drive to become an artist.Ray Burggraf Studio press, 2010, (http://rayburggraf.com/rayburggraf.com/Statement_Bio.html) After graduating from Ashland University, he worked as a teacher between 1961 and 1965. Eventually Burggraf decided to create and paint full-time, and quit his job in order to enroll in the Cleveland Institute of Art. As a student, Burggraf embraced traditional studio practice and was inspired by the German

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

of the 1930s, as well as the

Op Art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden image ...

movement of the 1960s. After graduation in 1968, Burggraf moved to CA and began graduate studies in the Fine Arts at the University of California at Berkeley. Burggraf graduated from UC Berkeley in 1970, and immediately moved to Tallahassee, FL to join the faculty at Florida State University. While at FSU, he spent the next 37 years teaching, painting and sculpting. In 2007, Burggraf retired from teaching and turned his focus to studio work. Today, Burggraf continues to paint and sculpt at the Ray Burggraf Studio, and teaches visiting college students in his capacity as Emeritus Professor of Fine Arts at FSU.

About his work

The precise color gradations in Ray Burggraf's paintings are frequently mistaken as having been created by airbrush. In fact, Burggraf creates the distinctive coloring by brushing acrylic paints by hand, using a specialized technique of Burggraf's invention. According to ''Ray Burggraf: Retrospective'', by Roald Naasgard (2006), Burggraf describes the process of creating his color constructions as "a combination of an act of meditation and physically exacting exercise." The paintwork must be completed quickly, and precisely, because acrylics can dry in minutes. Burggraf's earliest professional works, beginning around 1970, were primarily constructed on canvas. In the early 1980s, Burggraf transitioned to hand-crafted clusters of wood panels for the foundation of his color constructions. The panels allow Burggraf to add the dimension of time: moments in a day or week, and changes in light as it reveals or obscures land or seascapes. Burggraf modulates colors, contrasts soft and sharp edges, and experiments with interlocking forms that bulge or recede. Each color construction is designed to evoke multiple times and places; Burggraf uses blocks of color to take viewers on a visual journey through conventional atmosphere, and then bring them to Earth with a horizontal line, or horizon line, that re-asserts the landscape. One of the best examples of Burggraf's innovative technique may be ''The W'', on display in 2008 at

The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science The Mary Brogan Museum of Arts and Science, also known as the Brogan Museum and MOAS was an art and science museum located at 350 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida. History Located in downtown Tallahassee on Kleman Plaza, the museum was ...

as part of '' Smithsonian'' magazine's Museum Day presentation. While Burggraf's work is abstract, distinctive environmental themes are evident in his paintings and color constructions: "''My abstract paintings and color constructions highlight Earth's light and atmosphere. With glowing, jewel-like colors, smooth gradations emerge to evoke the grandeur of breathtaking vistas. Thoughts of oceans and the blazes of sunsets burst into creation from paintings on thin, sinuously-shaped panels of wood. They are a succession of linked landscape scenes remembered.'' ''Florida coastal environs and perhaps even beach-culture airbrush art are strongly reflected in my work. Precise color gradations are my signature; they are hand brushed rather than sprayed. Visual excitement flows like music and builds like progressive architectural morphology. Here, technique and theory work together to bring the language of modernist abstraction into the realm of contemporary landscape.''" (Ray Burggraf, 2010)

Public collections

Ray L. Burggraf's paintings have been acquired by the following: *

Mint Museum of Art The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collection ...

, Charlotte, NC * Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC *

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is a museum located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, featuring several art collections. The permanent collection includes examples of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculpture, Southern regional art, Ol ...

, Montgomery, AL * The University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL * Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL * Vanderbilt University Theological Seminary, TN * Dekalb College, Clarkston, GA * Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State * Florida State University, Psychology Department * Florida State University, Devoe Center * Broward Community College, South Campus, Three Locations * Florida State University, Student Wellness Center, 2012 * National Public Art Project: Florida International University, Earnest R. Graham University Center, Three-Part Installation * National Public Art Project: Florida State University, Student Life Center, One Painting, New Psychology Building, Two Locations * National Public Art Project: Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Training Area, Tallahassee, Complex

Corporate collections

Companies that have acquired works by Ray L. Burggraf: * Alabama Power Company * ATT Corporate Art Program, Piscataway, NJ * Barnett Bank, Jacksonville, FL * Continental Corporation, Miami, FL * Eastman Pharmaceuticals, A Division of Eastman Kodak, Malvern, PA * Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Inc., Sun Viking Cruise Ship, Port of Miami, FL * The Southern Bell Tower Collection, Jacksonville, FL * William R. Hough & Co., St. Petersburg, FL

Solo exhibitions

* ''Ray Burggraf'', Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, Edison State College, Fort Myers, FL, March 2011, University / regional show. * ''Ray Burggraf Painting'', Broward Community College, South Campus, Pembroke Pines, FL, November 2010, University / local show. * ''Orbits and Horizons'',

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

Museum Day presentation, Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Tallahassee, FL, September 2008, Museum / regional. * ''A Florida Painter, Retrospective'', Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL, February 2007, Museum / regional exhibition. * ''Paintings from the Southeast'', University of Texas at Brownsville & Texas Southernmost College, Brownsville, TX, 2002, University / National exhibit. * ''Color Sensations: Painting'' Broward Community College, Pembroke Pines, FL, 2000, University / Regional exhibition. * ''Spectrum Spaces'', West Valley Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ, 1999, Museum / National exhibition.

Selected US & international exhibitions

* ''Color it Color'': Janice Hartwell, Ray Burggraf, Linda Van Beck; Le Moyne Center for the Visual Arts, Tallahassee, FL, January 2011, Non-profit exhibition space. * ''30th Anniversary Exhibition'', 621 Gallery, May 2011, Tallahassee, FL. Non-profit space. * ''FSU Permanent Collection, Group Show'', Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL, June 2010, Museum exhibition. * ''2010/2011 Faculty Exhibition'', Florida State University Art Department, Augustus B. Turnbull Conference Center, Florida State University; Tallahassee, FL, University exhibition. * ''Love Your Mother: A pictorial discourse on the environment'', LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts, Tallahassee, FL, 42 Regional Artists, June 2007, Non-profit exhibition. * ''Psychological Self Portrait'', Invitational Group Show, Tallahassee City Hall, Tallahassee, FL, Non-profit exhibition. * ''31st Annual Juried Competition'',

Masur Museum of Art The Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, Louisiana in the United States, is the largest visual arts museum in northeast Louisiana. It is in the former home of the Masur family, the Masur House, also known as the Slagle-Masur House, which is listed on t ...

, Monroe, LA, 2004, Museum exhibition. * ''VROOM, Art in Motion'', Indiana University at Kokomo, Kokomo, IN, 2004, University exhibition. * ''Color Explosion'', The Kotinsky Gallery, Pompton Lakes, NJ, 2004, Gallery. * ''2004 Annual Florida Artists Exhibition'', Art League of Bonita Springs, Bonita Springs, FL, 2004, Non-profit exhibition. * ''Artescape, Naples'', Gallery Victoria, Naples, FL, 2004, Gallery. * ''Poetry of the Winds'', 2002 Flag Art Festival,

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Korea / Japan, Nanjicheon Park, Seoul, Korea, Non-profit exhibition. * ''Radiant Spaces'', Gadsden Arts, Inc., Quincy, FL, Two-Person Show, Part of ''Seven Days of Opening Nights'', 2001, Florida State University, Non-profit exhibition. * ''Paintings: Ray Burggraf / Ron Trujilo'', Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CO, Two-Person Show, 2000, Non-profit exhibition. * ''The Object as Art'', Bender Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, Group Show, 2000, Gallery. * ''Arthsma 2000, Arts Against Asthma'', Lo-gallery, The Bronx, NY, Group Show, 2000, Gallery. * ''Contemporary Exhibition'', Leon Loard Gallery of Fine Arts, Montgomery and Birmingham, AL, Group Exhibition of Gallery Artists, Same Show - 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, Gallery. * ''Autumn Bacchanal'', Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN, Group Show, 1999, University / National exhibition. * ''Celebrations, 1999'', The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL, Group Show & Sale, Non-profit / Regional exhibition. * ''World of Art'', ART Addiction,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Sweden, 1997, International Drawing Contest, Juried, Gallery / International exhibition.

''A Mysterious Clarity:'' Ray L. Burggraf, Mark Messersmith & Lillian Garcia-Roig (Collaboration)

*''A Mysterious Clarity - 10th Anniversary'', 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL, April 4 - 27, 2014. *''A Mysterious Clarity IX'', Brevard Art Museum, Melbourne, FL, Nov. 2008 - Jan. 2009, Museum exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity VIII'',

Gulf Coast Museum of Art The Gulf Coast Museum of Art was located at 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo, Florida. It housed contemporary Florida art in the permanent collection.Gulf Coast Museum of Art"Permanent Collection" ''Gulf Coast Museum of Art website'', 2007. Retriev ...

, Largo, FL, 2008, Museum exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity VII'',

Albany Museum of Art The Albany Museum of Art is located in Albany, Georgia, United States. The museum is a non-profit organization governed by a 28-member elected board of directors. History The museum was founded in 1964 as the outgrowth of the Southwest Georgia Art ...

, Albany, GA, Slide Lecture, Albany State University, January 2007, Museum exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity VI'',

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

, Miami, FL, (Wynwood Art District - FSU Grant Funded). * ''A Mysterious Clarity V'', Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, Gallery Lecture-Burggraf, Feb., 2006, University exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity IV'', Arts Center Galleries, Niceville, FL, October 2005, University exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity III'', Jacksonville University, FL, Sept. 2005, University exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity II'', Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA, University exhibition. * ''A Mysterious Clarity I'', 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL, 2004, Non-profit exhibition.

Papers and presentations

* Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC/MCAA), ''A Painter's Thoughts of Contemporary Color Theory: The Useful, the Irrelevant and the Dangerous,'' Presented as a Panel Member, Session—Chromancing the Color Moshpit, Annual Meeting, Oct. 25-58, 2006, Nashville, TN * Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC), ''The Legacy of Bauhaus: A Selective Memory Helps,'' Presented as a Panel Member, Session--''Bauhaus: An Idea or a History?'' Annual Meeting, Oct. 26-29, 2005, Little Rock, AR * College Art Association (CAA), ''Bauhaus Color Theory in the Melting Pot,'' Panel Member, Session--''Beyond Formalism: Teaching Color as Culture'', 91st Annual Meeting, Feb. 19-22, 2003, New York, NY * College Art Association (CAA), ''Painting the Compelling Force of Nature,'' Panel Member, Session--''Visual Commentary on Culture and Nature,'' 84th Annual Meeting, Feb. 21-24, 1996, Boston, MACollege Art Association, "History of Annual Meetings and Conferences", (http://www.collegeart.org/conference/history) * College Art Association (CAA), ''Regional Artistic Thought,'' Panel Member, Session--''Aesthetics, Cultural Diversity, and Art Issues Outside New York,'' 83rd Annual Meeting, Jan. 25-28, 1995, San Antonio, TX

References

External links

*"Tampa Bay Times", ''Jungle Arc'', www.tampabay.com

*"Tampa Bay Newspapers Weekly", ''A Mysterious Clarity on display at Gulf Coast Museum of Art'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burggraf, Ray L. American abstract artists 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 1938 births Living people People from Tallahassee, Florida Cleveland Institute of Art alumni Florida State University faculty People from Mount Gilead, Ohio Sculptors from Florida Modern artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors