Ray Besserdin www.papersculptureartist.com began his passion with paper in childhood, about the time he also become fascinated with nature. Graduating from La Trobe University in Biological Sciences, 1982, he immediately returned to his passion for art and soon began developing sculpture techniques with paper.
Ray’s work ranges from miniature to gigantic, from abstract to ultra-realistic. His signature work is a style he terms “Impressionistic Sculptured Paper”, associating it with the painting style of that name because it is only loosely representative, and concerned with capturing emotive responses and feel of the moment, not realism., “I want my work to portray a feel of the moment and speak to the viewers’ hearts”. Ray uses mostly handmade and mould-made, sheet formed cotton and mulberry papers from Europe and Asia. While he loves faces and hands because of their human expressiveness, nature is still his most beloved subject matter.
Ray has been recognised both in Australia and internationally with around 20 awards, including two gold from New York, one for a Macquarie Bank corporate commission, a First Place in the “Nature” Exhibition of LightSpaceTime Gallery, Florida and most recently was Winner of the People’s Choice Award, National Works On Paper 2018, MPRG, Victoria.
Corporate and Private commissions hang in London, Munich, Manhattan, New Zealand and throughout Australia
• Bachelor of Science Degree, La Trobe University, graduated 1982. Melbourne, Australia
• Freelance Graphic Designer / Illustrator to Advertising Agencies and Publishers, 1983 -1995
• Graphic Designer / Illustrator to PMP (a Murdoch Media Company) principally for their Corporate Annual Reports, 1993-1995 inclusive.
• Paper sculpture artist,1989 to present, becoming fully dedicated from 1996.
• Artist in Residence, May 2017, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts Gallery, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
• Ray Besserdin Paper Sculpture Artist Gallery owner, Black Rock, Victoria, from October 2016 to October 2018
• 12 Bronze Awards, Dimensional Awards Shows, 1992 – 2001 New York
• 2 Silver Awards, Dimensional Awards Show, 1992- 2001 New York
• 1 Gold Award, Dimensional Awards Show,1998 New York
• 1 Gold Medal, International Print Advertising Awards, (for Paper Sculpture Artwork), 1996 New York
• 1 Bronze Bell Award, Institute of Advertising and Creative Design, 2017 Dublin
• Chosen for Banyule Works on Paper, (any technique), 2017 Exhibition
• Winner National Works on Paper, People’s Choice Award (any technique), Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery 2018 Exhibition
• First Place, Second Place, Honourable Mention and Special Recognition, LightSpaceTime Gallery Florida, 2018
• Shared recognition: The “White Peacock” Paper Sculpture Gown, designed and created by Ray Besserdin for a creative collaboration with photographic artist Vicky Papas-Vergara, won her image the Gold Award at the 2018 Wppi Awards, Las Vegas.
• Appointed Australian Ambassador for Mondial Art Acadamie, France 2018
MAJOR CORPORATE PAPER SCULPTURES COMMISSIONS INCLUDE
• Northern Territory, Government of Australia: “Corporate Logo for Parks and Wildlife” (Bronze Award, NY);
“Life Cycle of the Red Kangaroo” 4-piece permanent public exhibit. (Bronze Award, NY); “Life Cycle of the Bush Tomato” 4-piece permanent public exhibit, (Bronze Award, NY). Federation Commemorative 3-Piece Public Sculptures: “Dancing Brolgas pair”, “Saltwater Crocodile with captured Barramundi” and “Frilled Lizard” Wildlife Symbols. (Arguably, to date the world’s largest paper sculptures based on length by height).
• Amcor Packaging. “2000 and Beyond”, Corporate Mission Statement Artwork. (Bronze Award winning, NY)
• Ford Performance Vehicles, FPV, division of Ford Motor Company Australia. (Silver Award winning, NY)
• Macquarie Bank Australia. (Gold Award winning, NY)
• Queensland Investment Corporation
