ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Ray Piscopo is considered to be one of the leading artists in Malta’s art scene. Ray Piscopo’s introduction to the world of art goes back to the early 1970s when as a student at a secondary school, was tutored by Antoine Camilleri (1922-2005), another prominent artist and a favorite with art lovers.

He attended classes for three years under the supervision of Anton Calleja (b. 1955), a well-known artist in his own right who regards the study of the human figure as essential in academic training. Ray also attended Luciana Notturni’s workshop on mosaics in Ravenna, Italy. For three years, he also attended classes at the Mosta Institute of Arts and Design in Ceramics under the tutorship of George Muscat.

In 2005, Ray served as a member of a specially formed Healing Arts Committee through the Foundation for Medical Services, entrusted with the embellishment of public spaces within Mater Dei Hospital with artworks. The Committee commissioned MCAST art students to create 615 works, and also organized a public competition around the main theme; A Madonna for Mater Dei Hospital.

In 2008, Ray won the 2nd Prize in an art competition: 3°Premio Piero Della Francesca in Arezzo, Italy. In 2009, Piscopo attended a three-week art masterclass in Salzburg, Austria with Hubert Scheibl, a prominent artist in Germany. He used a style much similar to artist Gerhard Richter, scraping over various layers of paint. In 2010 he attended another masterclass session at the SommerAkademieVenedig in Italy, with the renowned Senegalese artist Amadou Sow, best known for his microprinting techniques.

Throughout his career as an artist, Ray experimented with various media, starting with oils, then passing on to watercolor and gouache. He also uses acrylics which he finds satisfactory when needing to create quick textures with the brush. Recently, Ray has been liberally making use of mixed media on canvas and has returned to the use of oil paint.

Ray has been very successful in solo and collective art shows at prestigious venues, both in Malta and abroad. His paintings are also found in private art collections in Malta, Italy, Ireland, Austria, England, France, Norway, Canada, Australia, and the United States of America.