Diving into Mosaics with Ray Corral
For the past 25 years, Coral Gables resident Ray Corral has been installing highly refined mosaics in the pools of local homes, as well as in homes across the country. With 160,000 Instagram followers, his firm Mosaicist, Inc., now has more than two years’ worth of orders for glass-tiled mosaics.
In the last several years, Corral has become an active participant in the arts and culture of the community, donating $250,000 to community projects, largely administered by the Coral Gables Community Foundation. He is now serving his second year as a volunteer on the city’s Cultural Development Board and was recently designated a local artist by the Arts Advisory Panel for his work in designing his company’s murals.
WATCH: Visiting Ray Corral at his historic home on Country Club Prado
Latest Achievement
Corral was recently recognized as a Rock of the Community by the Coral Gables Community Foundation, an acknowledgement that is bestowed for donors that make unrestricted donations of $100,000 or more to the Foundation. He recently donated and installed a large mosaic mural at Carver Elementary School, which will be enhanced with landscaping he is also funding. He is underwriting the Corral and Cathers Art Fund with a $50,000 donation to create a fund for grants to local artists, and was one of the principal donors behind the Moon Over the Gables installation on Ponce Circle.
What He Says
“We are now understanding the power of art to uplift and unite a community, especially with art in public places,” says Corral. “This is something the mayor has recognized and championed — that public art sparks conversations and nurtures creativity. It’s not only about hospitality and fine dining. The city can become a bigger brand through art itself. I want to help that world, where art is an inspiration….”
Corral also says that for the pool mosaics he installs in Gables homes, he works to respect the city’s Mediterranean design heritage. “I design it around the historic architecture of the home, to bring synergy with the vision of the city when it was first built.”