Ray Sell "Ya Gotta Be Tough"

Ray Sell returns to Leo Kesting Gallery with his 2009 collection entitled Ya Gotta Be Tough, a depiction of the formative years of a boy’s life as a bombardment of masculine imagery to convince the youth to be a man. Ray’s latest exhibition gives the viewer insight into the mind of the American adolescent boy, one who is caught in a whirlwind of masculine preconceptions.

Many of Ray’s paintings, such as Target Practice and Tough Guy, hone in on the father-son relationship and how it influences a boy’s idea of manhood. Ya Gotta Be Tough represents the boy’s conception of masculinity as depicted by his father, peers and the media.

The collection of collage pieces, as well as sculpture such as Easy Target, mixed media sculpture, 2009 and Wanna Buck, mixed media sculpture, 2009 are crafted life-size taxidermy deer decoupaged in Ray’s signature style. What better represents the heyday of the man’s man than a taxidermy deer hanging above the mantle?