Raul Gracia is an artist born in Colombia living in Guilford, Vermont. A retired math and science high school teacher, he has been drawing the human figure since early childhood.
Mostly self-taught, Raul attended, under his art teacher’s recommendation, the summer workshops led by students at the Cooper Union School of Art when he was in high school in New York City. Although he did not attend a formal art program after graduation – he attended engineering school – he continued developing his craft in drawing and painting by joining the classes critiqued by Julian E. Levi, Richard-Poussette Dart and Marshall Glazer at the Art Students League of New York. He later spent a year in Barcelona, Spain at the artistic circle of Sant Lluc where he focused exclusively on figure drawing. Drawing sessions took place daily for six hours.
In painting he has developed a semi-abstract approach that uses elements of figurative drawing to arrange the compositions. He endeavors to elicit from the viewer a feeling of immersion into nature. In the latest pieces he has used carving in wood and the flow of lines inspired from the human figure to emphasize this connection.
Raul has exhibited in the group shows of the Artistic Circle of San Lluc, Barcelona. Midtown Arts Center, Houston. Gowanus Art Space in Brooklyn, New York and Long Island City Art Center (LICA) in Queens, New York. He also participated –through contest entry - in the 100 Gates project of the Lower East Side Business Improvement District.
