A lifetime of travel and study gives Ray Burggraf’s work a rich, universal perspective.  He was born in Ohio in 1938, a time when powerful changes were transforming rural America. Burggraf grew up on an Ohio farm and then attended the Cleveland Institute of Art where he worked with painters influenced by the German Bauhaus movement of the 30’s and Op Art of the 60’s that helped shape his artistic style. He received the BFA degree in 1968.

From Cleveland, Ray went to California and UC Berkeley where he developed his interest in Bauhaus style color theory and gradations of color, encouraged by the unique California sunlight. He received both the MA and MFA degrees from Berkeley in 1970.

Arriving in Florida, Ray taught painting and color theory at Florida State University. After 37 years, he retired to Professor Emeritus status in 2007. He continues to paint and exhibit his work and maintains a studio in the popular Railroad Square Art Park. His work continues to reflect a farmer’s affinity for the land, a Californian’s appreciation of light and color, and a Floridian’s experience of atmospheric and oceanic moods.