Ronald Rae

Ronald Rae is a rare example of a ‘total artist’ or Gesamtkunstler. Since penning his first cartoon at the age of 14, closely followed by taking a chisel to his first stone at 15, Rae created artworks almost every day for the next 60 years. Rae is best known as a granite sculptor, being the only artist working at scale on this most obdurate of materials using hand tools. After coming home exhausted from carving, Rae would also draw prolifically, and create work in a bewildering variety of media including ink and wax on paper, collage, carved and sun-inscribed wood, cardboard, found objects, books and newspapers. Themes include war, discrimination, social exclusion and alienation, humans and the animal world, early artforms, religion, and loss. Rae creates extended piano improvisations, and he is a published poet. This monograph contains a biography and covers the broad aspects of Rae’s artistic development and his approach to his work. Extensively illustrated, the volume will introduce the artist to a new audience and bring attention to his visceral yet ultimately tender depiction of the human condition. The book is published to coincide with an exhibition at Rozelle Gallery, Ayr entitled ‘Converge:Diverge’.

Robert De Mey grew up in Edinburgh and was educated at George Heriot’s School before qualifying from Edinburgh Medical School in 1985. He trained as a GP then as a psychiatrist for older people, and continues to work in this field. The 1990s brought an interest in art collecting and friendship with several artists and gallerists. As a parent, he became passionate about the role of the visual arts in education and became chair of Maybole Young Arts and then Ayrshire Young Arts until 2021. He is curating his first public exhibition at Rozelle Gallery, Ayr in 2023.