A contemplative view of nature and society which veers toward surrealism can be said to represent a central mooring for the recent vision of Raisa Latysh. Although certainly not anchored be the clutch of theme, her paintings not infrequently convey a sense of a beleaguered majesty, infringed by our presence in the environment; of an atmosphere haunted by human activities, daydreams, aspirations, preoccupations and self-involvements.

Beyond the threatening absurdities of human and cultural character, Latysh brushes lightly into the infinite mysteries of being with a bearing of mingled amusement and concern. Her visible philosophy promotes a recognition of a species' struggle to transcendence of its mammalian inheritance to rival its very source in nature with an elevated status which postures against its native domain as a co-existence of forces.

Born at Stavropol, Russia, Latysh traveled frequently in childhood as a daughter of a Soviet Army officer. Summers spent in her grandparents' rural village introduced her to the natural splendors of forest and fields, leaving deep and lasting impressions of environmental essences. Observation of the daily tasks of her grandfather and area craftsmen also exerted a far-reaching influence which would prompt her remark, when describing the period of her life in an interview many years later; "From this background came desire to do work with my hands, create, if you will, something of my world which will last and reach beyond me; something filled with my thoughts, emotions and remembrances."

Recognition of Latysh's artistry began in her second year of art college when her work "The Costume of Peter the Great" was judged best work by a student and became the subject of a short documentary shown as a preview in a movie theaters of Moscow. Her college thesis was published in the Soviet magazine Youth and a representation of her later Masters project at the Stroganoff Institute of Art in Moscow made the cover of Pravda.

During her studied, Latysh provided illustrations for the Union of Popular Science film company and the newspaper, Neues Leben and, following her graduation, as she became involved in the industrial design of appliances and interiors in the town of Krasnogorsk - (work which includes several camera bodies trademarked with her name), she designed the stone statuary situated at the town's entrance. Working for the Ministry of Light Industry, Russian Federation, Central Board of Toys by the mid-1970s, Raisa was head of the toy design division and toys make occasional appearances in her paintings even today.

Designing interiors, writing about art and design for various newspapers and magazines, (Raisa was published numerous times in United States) and exhibiting in Russia and abroad filled much of her time. In 1981, she became General Manager of the Krasnogorsk Gallery, where she arranged exhibitions which went abroad, and, eight years later, was commissioned by the scientific research institute, Spec Chem Mech in Moscow for the painting of three murals measuring 30'x30'.

Presently Raisa is an instructor at the School of Art in Moscow, she has presented her work at numerous exhibitions in Russia, Europe and the United States. Many of her oil paintings are held in private collections in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Russia and in America.