Ray WirtzSeattle artist Ray Wirtz delves into personal history in "Chronology of an American Boy," a series
of large-scale acrylic and collage paintings rendered in a retro modernist via ash-can school style.
Inspired by his school yearbook photos, Wirtz has created vibrant portraits that chart his
growth into manhood. Weaving stylized text into the backgrounds of each painting, he projects the
trials and complexities of boyhood. What appears at first to be the mottled backdrop of a school
photograph eventually reveals itself as Ray's personal mantra, with hidden messages such as "I must not
blame myself" and "I hate baseball" coming into sharp focus. |
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"Grade 3" mixed media 32" x 40" |
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