Charles Ray, recognized globally as one of the preeminent contemporary sculptors, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Iowa at 1 p.m. May 11 during the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony.

“This honorary degree means a lot, because Iowa means so much to me,” Ray says. “Nearly 50 years after I graduated, to be able to just say a few words and be part of this ceremony with the young people graduating now, I think it’s really terrific.”

Ray, who was born in the Chicago area, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Iowa in 1975.

“I came to Iowa because I wanted to become an artist,” Ray says. “I had always drawn when I was a kid. Iowa admissions must have seen some potential and my ambition. It was really four years of extremely positive experiences. The art and art history department was just fantastic. Some of the work that I did at Iowa remains among some of the best work that I’ve done in my life.”

After his time at Iowa, Ray earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 1979. He joined the faculty of the University of California-Los Angeles, where he is now a professor emeritus, in 1981.

Ray’s work has been internationally renowned for more than 50 years. His peers say Ray has a vast knowledge of art history, and his work shows historical influence through a contemporary lens. Ray and the team in his studio, which is based in California, can spend years on a piece.

“One can really make great art at any age,” Ray says of what he has learned over the years as an artist. “You don’t have to wait for anything. You can make something at 18 you can’t make at 22. You can make something at 30 you can’t make at 60.”

Ray’s sculptures can be found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among other major U.S. museums. The UI also has six pieces by Ray, all found in the Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building and displayed through the university’s Art on Campus program. 

In addition to these museums, Ray’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Glenstone in Washington, D.C., and the Centre Georges Pompidou and Bourse de Commerce in Paris. In 2022, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City hosted the Charles Ray: Figure Ground exhibition, which the museum said displayed the work from every period of the career of “one of the most important artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”

Ray has given his time to the UI School of Art and Art History and its sculpture program over the years, including speaking with students, giving guest lectures, and being part of unveilings of commissioned sculptures. In 2019, Ray returned to the UI as an alumni fellow.

“I’ve just really enjoyed the hospitality Iowa has shown me the times I have come back to talk or visit,” Ray says. “Iowa is one of the best universities out there. My wife is Italian, and people in Italy are impressed when I say I went there.”