# Ray Howlett

Ray Howlett (born 1940) is an American artist primarily associated with the light and space movement. He is known as one of the pioneers of infinity light sculptures.

## Early life and education

Howlett was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1963, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965, where he was influenced like many of the other Light and Space artists at the time to experiment with sculptural mediums and became inspired by the interaction of mixing reflective surfaces with electric light. The result was the development of a completely new, complex art form that he calls "Contained Reflective Light Sculpture."

## Work

Howlett’s earliest work were painting on large canvases, experimenting with the push and pull of visual space. In 1972, he began making serigraph prints on glass, mounting and spacing them in front of his paintings. This expanded into experiments with mirror and transparent reflective coatings on glass. Finally, incorporating electric lights into his pieces, to increase the dimensional effects, his paintings became sculptural.
In 1975, one of his first light sculptures was singled out by art critic, Alfred Frankenstein, while he called the show “an unmitigated disaster” he noted that “only one has any business being shown in an art museum. That work is called “Vortex” by Ray Howlett.”
Howlett's sculptures create a colorful and abstract optical space larger than the piece itself what he calls an "optically expanding space". In his structural forms, illuminated graphic images appear to be floating within transparent sculptures. The internal composition and colors shift and change as the viewer moves around it.

### Museum Permanent Collections

Howlett's work is represented in numerous public collections including;
| Year | Museum | City | Country |
| 2013 , | Amarillo Museum of Art | Amarillo, Texas | United States |
| 2007 | Loveland Museum | Loveland, Colorado | United States |
| 2007 | Erie Art Museum | Erie, Pennsylvania | United States |
| 2007 | Museum of Dichroic Art | Orange County, California | United States |
| 2006 | Butler Institute of American Art | Youngstown, Ohio | United States |
| 2005 | Northern Galleries at Northern State University | Aberdeen, South Dakota | United States |
| 2003 | West Valley Art Museum | Surprise, Arizona | United States |
| 2002 | Masur Art Museum | Monroe, Louisiana | United States |
| 2002 | Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, | Pine Bluff, Arkansas | United States |
| 2002 | Midwest Museum of American Art | Elkhart, Indiana | United States |
| 2001 | Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College | Keene, New Hampshire | United States |
| 2000 | Museum of Neon Art | Los Angeles, California | United States |
| 1999 | Springfield Art Museum | Springfield, Missouri | United States |
| 1999 | The Kaleidoscope Art Museum | Sendai | Japan |
| 1999 | Midland Center for the Arts | Midland, Michigan | United States |
| 1998 | The Grace Museum | Abilene, Texas | United States |
| 1998 | Museum of Art Oklahoma State University | Stillwater, Oklahoma | United States |
| 1996 | Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences | Peoria, Illinois | United States |
| 1994 | Louisiana Art and Science Museum | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | United States |
| 1991 | Museum of Science | Boston, Massachusetts | United States |
| 1989 | SciTech Museum | Aurora, Illinois | United States |
| 1987 | Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History | Los Angeles, California | United States |
| 1987 | Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation | Los Angeles, California | United States |