Born in Paris in 1936, Raya stayed hidden during the war with his mother, a Jewish-Russian immigrant from whom he adopted the name.

At the age of fourteen, with a drawing book as his only luggage, he left on a journey that would last almost twenty years. He wandered all over the world either drawing or painting, like a nomad.

Although born in France, he remained deeply affected by his Russian-Semitic origins. His painting is profoundly Slavic and Jewish.

After years of painting, Raya has kept all of his primitivity and mysticism. The joy and spirituality captured in Raya’s painting becomes more powerful as time goes on.

Intense and warm, the tints Raya uses describe a powerful joy and exultant. A lyrical violence and an atmosphere of celebration breathe through his painting like the hymn of life.