about
As a little boy, my dream was to become an inventor.
‘My favorite thing to do was to dream away and draw things that didn’t exist yet — a watch that could play music, underwater turbines. As a teenager, you could often find me on the beach, testing kites I had designed myself. Fumbling with the bridle and setup to get them flying right, I learned through trial and error. The feeling of the wind as my guide, the sea washing away my thoughts, and the sense of being one with nature — that’s where my heart opened. That early sense of wonder never left. This hands-on exploration now runs through my work as an artist, teacher, and researcher.
To this day, I want to feel awe while sketching or imagining. Wonder is still my compass — not only in the making, but in what I hope the work evokes: a pause, a shift, a deeper sense of being moved.’
Bas van Raay (b. 1981) is a conceptual artist, teacher, and researcher.
His work unfolds as an inquiry into the deeper layers of the present — not just what is visible, but what stirs beneath the surface: in silences, undercurrents, and shifting meanings. He explores the tension between how we are shaped by societal roles and expectations, and the quiet emergence of inner awareness. What begins as adapting to the societal system can gradually turn into estrangement — and ultimately, into reflection.
Through installations, objects, and visual essays, he gives form to abstract forces. Cultural taboos, mental frameworks, and collective transitions are translated into images that slow down, disrupt, or mirror back. His practice is conceptual, intuitive, and philosophical — rooted in a desire to understand what shapes us now, and what is on the verge of breaking through.
Link to CV (coming soon)