Omar Rayo in front of his museum in Roldanillo, Colombia

The Colombian painter and sculptor Omar Rayo, whose work was characterized by colorful geometric shapes, died yesterday Monday 7th June 2010 at age 82 after suffering a heart attack in his native town of Roldanillo.

Three years ago, the artist Omar Rayo suffered 30 hours in a coma when a heart attack almost killed him, but the burly artist managed to recover well from that episode .

At that time, he said that after “escaping death” he began to paint “with the whole alphabet”. His work which were traditionally geometric patterns created in black, white and red now also included the other primary colors of yellow and blue in his work. And so, inspired by his family this new art was presented in the Museum of Modern art in Bogota (Mambo) ‘Toys of Mateo’, as a tribute to his grandson. That was his last exhibition in the Colombian capital.

Roldanillo

“I can´t go on. I’m at the end of my strength.” It is the often repeated phrase heard in recent months the artist Omar Rayo, referring to his efforts to maintain and keep open the  Omar Rayo Museum in Roldanillo, to which all his efforts were devoted.

Omar Rayo Museum, Roldanillo

The strength that radiated from this tall man, whose bushy eyebrows and intense gaze was quickly undermined in recent months, burdened by ill health and anxieties for survival of the Rayo Museum, which he called his “silly son” or folly.

The painter and sculptor Colombian, whose work was characterized by geometric shapes died at age 82, at a clinic in Cali, where he was taken after suffering a heart attack in the house where he lived in Roldanillo near Cali in the south west of Colombia. He died en route to hospital.

Alejandro Mendoza, one of the artist´s assistants, said that Rayo was having breakfast when he collapsed. “We called the police and the hospital, where he was revived and sent to Cali (capital of Valle), but upon reaching the town of Palmira his vital signs worsened and he was dead when he entered the clinic” Mendoza said.

In Roldanillo (Valle del Cauca), the birthplace of Omar Rayo, a vigil  will be held tomorrow at the Museum along with his funeral. In town, the Fire Department is sounding its alarm every hour as a sign of mourning. “The people are sad. People came to the doors of the Museum with long faces. The master teacher was a wonderful person,” said Hugo Fernando Lozano, an employee who has worked for 13 years in the Museo Rayo.

Once while being interviewed in 2006, shortly after recovering from his heart attack, Rayo was asked:

How do you want people to remember you?

and answered:  I want to be remembered as a creator, as I am. Perhaps, a bitter person, perhaps, like a nice person, perhaps, as a person of good humor. I do not know how people see me, but the truth is that I love people and I have no grudges against anybody …

Now the cultural legacy of the artist who devoted his life to Roldanillo in the north of Valle del Cauca, is the Rayo Museo. It was his life and grief. Hundreds of his works remain there. Before he died, his main concern was that the museum would continue its mission.

A life in art

Omar Rayo Painting

Rayo was born on January 20, 1928 in Roldanillo. His first work was embodied in the shadow of a dog that was projected in his room using charcoal. That marked the first contact with white and black, colors which then dominated his works. He began in his teens, thanks to a notice announcing a correspondence course in drawing Zaer Academy of Buenos Aires (Argentina).

From 1948, Rayo began presenting his works at exhibitions and he won the National Salon of Artists of Colombia and a special prize at the First Latin American Print Biennial, San Juan Puerto Rico, in 1970.

From 1959 to 1960 he lived in Mexico, thanks to a grant from the Organization of American States (OAS) and then with another grant was in New York City, where he settled until 1976 and where he had an apartment where he lived much of the year.

In 1981 he founded the Omar Rayo Latin American Drawing and Engraving  Museum, which he also led. His work was focused on geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles and lines with colors.

Most of his remaining works are in his museum.

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