2009.02.01: February 1, 2009: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Obituaries: Gay Issues: Art: Painting: My San Antonio: Colombia RPCV Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything
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2009.02.04: February 4, 2009: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Obituaries: Gay Issues: Art: Painting: San Antonio Current: Obituary for Colombia RPCV Henry Raybur :
2009.02.01: February 1, 2009: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Obituaries: Gay Issues: Art: Painting: My San Antonio: Colombia RPCV Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything
Colombia RPCV Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything
Henry Rayburn could make art out of almost anything — spools of thread, a Fiesta gown, tarnished silverware, sofa pillows and puzzle pieces. His mixtures of glitz and nostalgia were sweet and playful, referring to the city's history and old family stories. He designed the “Dancing Letters” that seem to twist and shout across the fanciful façade of the Maury Maverick Jr. Library, which also features giant abstract paintings on metal that suggest a child's view of flowers and foliage.
Colombia RPCV Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything
Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything
Caption: The “Dancing Letters” of the Maury Maverick Jr. Library designed by Henry Rayburn.
Henry Rayburn could make art out of almost anything — spools of thread, a Fiesta gown, tarnished silverware, sofa pillows and puzzle pieces. His mixtures of glitz and nostalgia were sweet and playful, referring to the city's history and old family stories.
He designed the “Dancing Letters” that seem to twist and shout across the fanciful façade of the Maury Maverick Jr. Library, which also features giant abstract paintings on metal that suggest a child's view of flowers and foliage.
Collage artist, preservationist and community activist, Rayburn died Tuesday. He was 64.
“His passion was for his art and his friends,” said Jim Nelson, a friend who teaches at the UT Health Science Center. “From my perspective, I thought he could turn anything in the world into a beautiful object.”
In 2006, Rayburn rounded up nine other San Antonio artist collectors for “Juxtapositions,” which ranged from antique measuring devices to Barbie dolls, at the Alameda National Center for Latino Arts and Culture.
He graduated from Alvarado High School in 1963 and then studied architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. After spending two years in Colombia with the Peace Corps, he worked as an architect in San Francisco and San Antonio. But he left architecture in 1985 to pursue his art full time.
He studied art at the Art Institute of San Antonio. With rendering, watercolor and drawing skills from his architectural training, he began to work in collage and then moved into three-dimensional assemblages made from found objects.
“Henry was a simple, gentle fellow with a good, adventurous eye for design,” said Richard Conn, owner of the Nueva Street Gallery where Rayburn worked for 15 years. “He had a real impact on people locally, and probably would have become a much better-known artist nationally if he had had a few more years.”
Rayburn showed in galleries in Texas and Colorado. He was included in several of the annual “Blue Star” surveys of local artists during Contemporary Art Month. For a special outdoor exhibit during “Blue Star 17,” he placed stuffed animals in the windows of the old Friedrich Building. Curator Terri Sultan of Houston's Blaffer Gallery selected Rayburn as the only sculptor included in “Blue Star 18.”
His last exhibit, featuring new work with puzzle pieces, was last November at the Koelsch Gallery in Houston.
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Headlines: February, 2009; Peace Corps Colombia; Directory of Colombia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Colombia RPCVs; Obituaries; Gay Issues; Art; Painting; Architecture
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Colombia; Obituaries; Gay Issues; Art; Painting; Architecture
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