After drooling over examples of Ray Reyes 3-D art for years online (as well as a few missed eBay auctions), it was startling to actually walk into a local antique mall this weekend and see one hanging on the wall right there in front of me. And then noticing that it was actually priced affordably-- well, lets just say that my heart skipped a few beats, uh-huh! Ray's stunningly unique, 60's Mexican folk art style of mixed, molded, colored clay (or putty) to create a framed 3-D scene on a wild, slap-dash, splatter painted background is certainly a sight to behold. Here we see a doctor checking his own fluttery heart rate after asking his lovely patient to remove her clothing. The faces of both characters are just mini masterpieces of sexiness and humor, Reyes really had a great eye for detail in every respect --even the globby background splatters have an interesting, otherworldly texture, -- it's as if our two crazy characters are materializing right out of another groovy dimension. And like a funny, cute, one-panel comic gag in an old men's magazine, it's a silly, stylized, self-contained story with no real need for dialog, though I am curious if something was meant in place of all that empty space in the upper left hand corner. Signed and dated 1968 (the same year I was born), and though it's surely seen better days when you view it close-up in some areas, it's held up surprisingly well (possibly even better than me!) And that's the only one real downside to this fabulous piece of art: the putty itself is still somehow very much active and moldable. It doesn't take much to accidentally leave a gash in it with your fingernail, or push in some element, which is what appears to have happened to the good doctor's nose at some point over the last half century. This thing is also a total dirt, lint, and fingerprint magnet, and trying to clean it up only creates more tiny problems, I mean, clearly whoever tried to improve the woman's back, for example, just made things worse, unfortunately. Some of Ray's 3-D art pieces I've seen online have a sheet of glass over the subjects which definitely seems the way to go. You can view a few more of these by googling Ray's name, and FYI: a couple on eBay right now too!
