Raymond L. Haywood
December 2 & 3, 11am - 5pm
Biography
Raymond received his BFA from the University of California at San Diego and his MFA from San Francisco State University. He has over a decade of teaching experience from high school to community college.
He is currently a high school Construction Technologies Instructor at Freedom High School in Oakley CA. He is also a retired journeyman carpenter, knowledgable in residential and commerical construction for the past four decades.
Raymond has taught a wide variety of art related subjects: painting, printmaking, theater set design and construction, textile design and Art history at the junior College level.
Raymond is known for his abstract expressionist mixed-media paintings that often include paper collage, drawing, and hand crafted paper stencils. His dynamic cowrie symboled paintings from 2020 explore the African Diaspora through variegated color and texture.
Raymond became a member of the art collective Mercury Twenty Gallery in downtown Oakland CA in 2021. His 2022 exhibition at the Mercury Twenty gallery in Oakland CA, “ENVy of Desire”, introduced his abstract expressionist sculptures.
Utilizing vibrant color and patina rich surfaces illustrate Mr. Haywoods signature painting style. Raymond is committed to Abstract painting and sculpture and has focused on these media for the past decade exclusively. His artwork evokes ethereal landscapes which resonate with his audience through emotions archived in our physical bodies.
Artist Statement
Abstraction and Action painting based on improvisation are the essential elements of my paintings. Weathered wooden surfaces and hard edged painting vs soft edged spraypaint are my signature style.
A native of Berkeley CA, the influences of land, sea and sky dominate my compositions.
Painting is the praxis that facilitates an entry point for gesture and content, creating a visual diary of travels and explorations
The scale of my work is as important as the intention and content. Paintings reflect a specific time, place and emotion that are stored in our physical memory.
Abstract Expressionism, Silk Screen printing and Sculpture are the genres that call to me.