ABOUT THE ARTIST

Inna Ray grew up in the San Gabriel Valley during a time of suburban expansion and orange-grove bulldozing. She developed a deep appreciation for the natural landscape of Southern California, and experiences like hiking in the foothills of the Angeles Forest and camping in Joshua Tree and Owens Valley strongly influenced the subject matter in her work. Ray attended Immaculate Heart College in Hollywood, studying painting and photography, and graduated with a BA in Art. 

After many years living in the San Francisco Bay Area and painting with a focus on the figure, she relocated to the Eastern Sierra in 2010. Falling in love with the landscape, she wandered around in Owens Valley and adjacent high desert lands, photographing her surroundings to use as sources for compositions she created in her travel-trailer studio. She passed away in October of 2020 after a career creating artwork with a deep connection to the earth.