Raymond Saunders (born 1934)[1] is an American artist known for his multimedia paintings which often have sociopolitical undertones,[2] and which incorporate assemblage, drawing, collage and found text.

[6] Saunders works in a large variety of media, but is mainly known for work that encompasses painting and transversal media juxtaposition, sometimes bordering on the sculptural (as in Pieces of Visual Thinking, 1987) but always retaining the relation to the flat wall key to modernism in painting.

Saunders' painting is expressive, and often incorporates collage (mostly small bits of printed paper found in everyday life), chalked words (sometimes crossed out), and other elements that add references and texture without breaking the strong abstract compositional structure.

This lends a sense of social narrative to even his abstract work which sets it apart from artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine, or Cy Twombly, with which it has obvious affinities.

[15] His international exhibits have included venues in France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Singapore, Korea, Japan, China.

It included works by some of the country's top artists, including Horace Pippin, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Jacob Lawrence, Benny Andrews, Roland Ayers, Romare Bearden, Avel de Knight, Barkley Hendricks, Paul Keene, Louis B. Sloan, Ellen Powell Tiberino, Ed Wilson, Henry Ossawa Tanner and Joshua Johnson.

[28] In 1976, Saunders was also awarded Guggenheim Fellowship, given to individuals in many different fields and creation under any art form.

Going through the Pittsburgh public school system, Saunders continues to use iconic suggestions of blackboards and chalk within his pieces.

[31] With intertwining details of his history as well as popular narratives, Saunders expresses imbalances and stability within the black community in an urban area.

Saunders, in a 1994 interview with SFMOMA, stated his ideas of the artistic process, and breaking away from any niche critics put him within.