The Most Perfect Most: Ray Bender

Ray Beldner is a sculptor and mixed media artist whose work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and can be found in many public and private collections including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the Federal Reserve Board, Washington D.C., 21c Museum, Kentucky, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Oakland Museum of California, and the San Jose Museum of Art, among others.Born in San Francisco, Beldner received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Mills College. He has received numerous awards and fellowships including a California Arts Council Fellowship in New Genres, a Creative Work Fund Grant from the Haas Foundations, and a Potrero Nuevo environmental art grant. He has taught sculpture, interdisciplinary studies, and professional practices at the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of the Arts, San Francisco State University, and University of California, Santa Cruz.His work has been reviewed in publications including Art in America, Arte, Art On Paper, Artweek, Wired, Playboy, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, the International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. A profile of him and his work can be found in the book: Epicenter, San Francisco Bay Area Art Now, by Chronicle Books.

Nancy Kay Turner is an artist and Los Angeles art critic for Riot Material magazine as well as a contributor to ARTSCENE and artandcakela.com. She received her M.A. in Painting and Drawing from UC Berkeley and was Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing (retired) at Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA.She fled New York City for the sun and fun of California and has never looked back.