marcos raya
About
Born in Guanajuato, Mexico, Marcos Raya is a Chicago based artist, well known for his murals throughout Pilsen. Overtly political, his work focuses on themes such as economic disparity, racism, illness and alcoholism, and is imbued with elements of Rascuachismo.
Raya studied at Windsor Mountain Preparatory School in Lenox, MA and has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, Mexican Museum in San Francisco, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center, Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. He also has two published books, The Fetish of Pain and Fetishizing the Imaginary.
Night Dog
1987, Acrylic on canvas
Gift from the artist
Night Dog was gifted to UIMA by Marcos Raya in 2017. Autobiographical, Night Dog depicts a young, working class artist—Raya himself arrived in Pilsen at 23. Influenced by German Expressionism and Surrealism, Raya captures the Pilsen community in the 1980s through a social realist lens.
Night Train
June 2—July 30, 2017, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art
Curated by Robin Dluzen and Stanislav Grezdo
Chicago artist Marcos Raya has a long, established career and a varied practice, with topics that range from futurism and surrealism, to social, sexual and political commentary. In this solo exhibition, the scope of Raya’s work is narrowed to highlight some of the most poignant and resonate subjects that he explores. Raya regularly includes his own image and autobiography into his work, including some of the darker experiences from his life and the world around him. The artist approaches issues like alcoholism, illness, war, poverty and racism with understanding, criticality and astonishing insight, also imbuing these grim topics with a unique combination of wit, absurdity and strangeness.
(Excerpt from Night Train Exhibition description)
current work
Raya is currently working on A Better and Different World is Possible, a mural designated for 21st and Wolcott in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Stay tuned for more information!