Ray Howlett (born 1940) is an American artist primarily associated with the light and space movement. He is known as one of the pioneers of infinity light sculptures.
Early life and education Howlett was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1963, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965, where he was influenced like many of the other Light and Space artists at the time to experiment with sculptural mediums and became inspired by the interaction of mixing reflective surfaces with electric light. The result was the development of a completely new, complex art form that he calls "Contained Reflective Light Sculpture."
Work Howlett’s earliest work were painting on large canvases, experimenting with the push and pull of visual space. In 1972, he began making serigraph prints on glass, mounting and spacing them in front of his paintings. This expanded into experiments with mirror and transparent reflective coatings on glass. Finally, incorporating electric lights into his pieces, to increase the dimensional effects, his paintings became sculptural.
In 1975, one of his first light sculptures was singled out by art critic, Alfred Frankenstein, while he called the show “an unmitigated disaster” he noted that “only one has any business being shown in an art museum. That work is called “Vortex” by Ray Howlett.”
Howlett's sculptures create a colorful and abstract optical space larger than the piece itself what he calls an "optically expanding space". In his structural forms, illuminated graphic images appear to be floating within transparent sculptures. The internal composition and colors shift and change as the viewer moves around it.
Museum Permanent Collections Howlett's work is represented in numerous public collections including; Year Museum City Country 2013 Amarillo Museum of Art Amarillo, Texas United States 2007 Loveland Museum Loveland, Colorado United States 2007 Erie Art Museum Erie, Pennsylvania United States 2007 Museum of Dichroic Art Orange County, California United States 2006 Butler Institute of American Art Youngstown, Ohio United States 2005 Northern Galleries at Northern State University Aberdeen, South Dakota United States 2003 West Valley Art Museum Surprise, Arizona United States 2002 Masur Art Museum Monroe, Louisiana United States 2002 Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas United States 2002 Midwest Museum of American Art Elkhart, Indiana United States 2001 Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College Keene, New Hampshire United States 2000Museum of Neon Art Los Angeles, California United States 1999 Springfield Art Museum Springfield, Missouri United States 1999The Kaleidoscope Art Museum Sendai Japan 1999 Midland Center for the Arts Midland, Michigan United States 1998 The Grace Museum Abilene, Texas United States 1998 Museum of Art Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma United States 1996 Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences Peoria, Illinois United States 1994 Louisiana Art and Science Museum Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States 1991 Museum of Science Boston, Massachusetts United States 1989 SciTech Museum Aurora, Illinois United States 1987 Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Los Angeles, California United States 1987 Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation Los Angeles, California United States
References
External links Official website