LYNN – Local artist and Lynn native Ray Gilbert was awarded third place for his painting “Roots and Branches” at a national show hosted by the Boston Copley Society of Art.
Daisy Alejandre of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, presented the Award.
Born in 1966, Gilbert’s early works include cityscapes of Lynn, where he grew up. In 1993, Gilbert completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Boston School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
“I’ve always remained in the area,” he said. “And I’ve kind of always been a part of the Boston art scene.”
Gilbert now owns a studio in Lynn, in his namesake, and is a member of the Boston Copley Society of Art.
Calling from France, Gilbert explained that a large portion of his work is simply sketching and capturing thoughts in his day-to-day activities.
He sees his work as a means of expression of the broader interconnectedness of life. Gilbert’s artistic style is in the same vein; he experiments with multiple layers, mixed media, and raw canvases.
“It’s not a traditional landscape,” he said. “I work with layers to create depth. Not just with physical layers, but with the layers of dialogue I am trying to convey.”
Inspired by the Cubists, early 20th-century artists who showed fragmented perspectives on a two-dimensional surface, Gilbert tries to encompass multiple thoughts at the same time.
“Roots and Branches” features a home traversed by wild plants, and a person passing through the landscape; a scene full of movement, cut in half, reaching upward and downward at once.
“All my work just tries to convey the fleeting passage of life,” he explained. “Not necessarily as a negative, but just as a kind of expression.”
Does he consider his work an engagement to the community?
“Absolutely,” Gilbert answered. “As you can see, I’m not as good at expressing myself verbally as I am visually. Color and form are my language.”
Honored to be recognized by the MFA, Gilbert hopes that his work will expand beyond him and become a voucher for collective expression of his central message:
“We are all one. All part of the greater and bigger good in our world.”
The Show runs from June 5 through July 3 at the COSO gallery located at 158 Newbury St, Boston.
