Cover story: Bright light in the big city

Unlike a lot of New Zealand art, Grace Wright's work is positive, bright and enjoyable, says Warwick Henderson. Photo/Rhiannon Smith

For Tauranga abstract painter Grace Wright, "painting a visual pleasure" is at the heart of her work, on show at the Warwick Henderson Gallery in Auckland next month as well as at the Auckland Art Fair.

Spearmint Fantasies showcases Wright's signature style of bold splashes of primary colour against pastel backgrounds, all rendered in heavy brushstrokes. With playful titles such as This wasn't the Plum Parfait Doris was Expecting, Time-Turning was the Sweetest Memory and Daisy Secretly preferred Raspberries in her Gin & Tonic, the 23-year-old graduate of Elam Art School shows that she does not take herself too seriously.

"These are playful works that don't attempt to address any direct or heavy conceptual meaning. However an imagined sense of place is often invoked - the titles offer a feeling of a place - the sky sparkling at midnight, a misty still morning," says Wright.

However, the playfulness of her works still draw the viewer into a "dynamic vortex of tangled and gestural colours".

"I deliberately and strategically construct heterogeneous colour combinations to engage the viewer in the physical and pleasurable act of looking."

There is no doubt this talented young artist from the Bay, now based in Auckland, has achieved this goal of gaining viewers' attention.

The artist's work will also be featured at this years Auckland Art Fair in May 2016.
Wright has been selected as a finalist in several awards and was awarded two Elam Art scholarships in 2014.

Wright celebrated her first solo exhibition in Auckland last year.

Warwick Henderson said at the time while many galleries would not touch new graduates and while he gets approached by hundreds of artists a year wanting to exhibit in the gallery, Wright had something special.

"Grace ticks all the boxes. Her palette and the combination of colours, her tones and balance, her design work really stood out," he said.

"She has lovely, gestural brush work and, unlike a lot of New Zealand art, her work is positive, bright and enjoyable. She has something different. It is certainly a celebration of colour and movement."

The former Tauranga Girls' College student is also an accomplished musician, playing the piano and bass.

One of Grace's works, she says they are playful works that don't attempt to address any direct or heavy conceptual meaning. Photo/supplied

Q & A with Grace Wright

Where is your studio?
In 2015, I had a studio in Tauranga out the back of Zeus Gallery on 11th Ave, although the gallery has a new space in Chapel Street now. Since moving back to Auckland I found a great studio in Three Kings. A bunch of other artists also work there and it feels like a workshop, which is what I always look for in a studio. Painting is very physical: I stretch my own canvases and often they're fairly large works so the space I'm in works great.

How can people buy your paintings?
Through my dealer: Warwick Henderson Gallery in Auckland. All the available work is listed on their website www.warwickhenderson.co.nz

Which artists inspire you?
Judy Millar, Jan de Vliegher, André Hemer - the situation of contemporary painting is really interesting in itself, particularly from a global perspective. I think it was Gerhard Richter who said 'we make art to put it out in the world and have conversations about it' - the discussions that arise from painting are inspiration in itself. I'm always reading Frieze magazine and looking at what's being written overseas. Being a painter you have to be really aware of what else is happening around you. That's why I believe painting with a conceptual drive and an interest in research is important. Outside painting, the lyrical, colour-visual way Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby has inspired me since I first read it in high school.

You went to school at Tauranga Girls' College. When did you first take an interest in art and how did it develop?
I was always into art right in the beginning but it became more serious the older I got. Looking back, colour relationships always played a part in my art and there was always an element of control. But what you see now didn't fully surface until my fourth year at Elam.

I see painting as a constant evolution and it's really interesting to see how all these previous experiences and work have all fed into my practice now.

How do you subsidise your art i.e. do you have to have another job as well?
Yes, I work part time as an Audience Engagement and Administration assistant at Te Tuhi, a prominent contemporary art gallery in Auckland. It's a great accompaniment to my own practice, being in an art environment, with such forward-thinking exhibitions.

What other passions do you have as well as art?
Art tends to take up most of the 'passion' area, but I also enjoy music - I played piano for a long time and I love cooking, reading, travelling and spending time with my family.

What do your family think of your art?
They love it! They're very supportive and encouraging. One of my sisters will always ring me the second I post an instagram photo and give me her 'daily feedback'! Our family are all very musical too and I think the art/music gene runs in the family. Also, my late grandmother was a wonderful floral artist and made beautiful arrangements.

What is your favourite piece you have done and why?
It's hard to say as I like quite a few, and it's a constant so what I like now usually gets replaced by something different. A work really clicks for me when I've done just enough that I can step back and the work 'turns' by itself, like sliding moving parts, and I think, 'how did I do that again?'

One of Grace Wright's paintings showing at the Warwick Henderson Gallery. Photo/supplied