Modern Artist with a retro appeal
Ray Becoskie
2008
Acrylic and wax
on canvas
29 “h. x 26″w.
This past weekend my wife and two boys spent an evening in the Lowertown Neighborhood of St. Paul in the buildings surround my office (touring the studios of many of the artist who occupy these spaces) for the bi-annual St. Paul Art Crawl. The Crawl is far to large to do in one day so building selection can be crucial for properly quenching your thirst for relatively undiscover works of art. Although there were certainly stunning works from a variety of artist, one in particular captured my attention—Ray Becoskie. the tall, slender built artist told me that he had previously worked in oils but the time commands that the medium required meant he was filling his sketch books with inumeral ideas that were sitting burried away, waiting their turn to come to life. So Becoskie switched to arcylics (a medium he had previously thought very little of) and the results are stunning. His works have a whimsical tone and primal nature yet highly sophisticaled sense of composition. this wonderful blend of simple sophistication lends itself perfectly for presentation in homes with a modern Contemporary or Mid-Century Modern tone.
I was so excited after seeing Becoskie’s work that I rushed home and sent an email off to a friend of mine who was looking some wonderful modern pieces to fill his walls for an upcoming home tour and featured appearance on the TV show “The World’s Greenest Homes”. Ironically his wife had purchased a couple of Becoski’s work just a few years ago and was displaying two smaller pieces in their home office, where they appeared to be a perfect fit.
If you’re interested in the samples above check out more of Becoskie’s work at 8blockrule.com.
