John Raymond

Artist Statement

During this era of the growing concern for the warming planet, I find inspiration in the beauty found in the degradation of nature and devastation to the environment caused by the man-made world. My paintings represent an ongoing exploration of building textural surfaces onto the imagery of structures of civilization, land and sea, sticks and stones, fire and ice. I work primarily with acrylic on paper, canvas, and board--elements of collage and assemblage are occasionally included.

I have resided in Western New York since the early 1990s after starting an art career in Baltimore, New York, and Austin. Represented for a time by the Jack Tilton Gallery in New York, I later worked as an instructor at University of Texas in Austin and Erie Community College in Buffalo. My published art reviews of local gallery exhibitions have appeared in the former publications, Art Voice and The Public. Involved for several years with productions at the Subversive Theater Collective as an actor, set painter, and board member; I also appeared in the 2018 short film, Memories of the Future.

An exhibiting member of Buffalo Society of Artists since 2022 and Board member since 2023, I am also a member of Western New York Artists Group and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center. A former member of the College Street Gallery Artist Collective and I served as a docent at the former Albright Knox Art Gallery 2014-2019.