Dorazio in his 23rd Street studio, New York
Ralph Dorazio (1922-2004, United States) was a multi-disciplinary artist and part of the New York City avant-garde scene of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Detroit, Dorazio landed in New York City after his discharge from military service in World War II. Upon arriving, he studied painting and sculpture under the tutelage of Arthur Keissler and Jose de Creeft. While sharing a 23rd Street studio with his wife Mary for more than 40 years, Dorazio sustained himself with teaching jobs at Pratt University and the Fabrizio Art School. During that time, he would create an extensive body of work across many media including paintings, unique musical instruments, set and costume designs for theater productions, as well as the modernist abstract sculptures poetically rendered in wood, for which he would become most renowned.
