John Herbert Wright

"Protect", figurative acrylic painting on canvas

2022

From the tender age of eight, John-Herbert Wright gravitated to painting as an escape expressing a rich inner world. His work heavily relies upon dark figurations amongst an urban landscape leaving the viewer space to navigate the world he creates. An analogy of the human condition; centering the female nude/mother and child as the protagonist, he tells the story of the broken seeking respite, the downcast, the other. Wright seeks to illuminate the universe of darkness within all of us, within himself, and that darkness contrasted with fragility has always been at the epicenter of his work. Wright has managed to create a niche for himself as a painter and street-wear designer, contributing to the role the graphic t-shirt played in disseminating New York street culture across the globe. Transferring the techniques of garment making onto his canvases, Wright’s paintings feature backdrops of multiple layers of silk-screened images, drawings and text. Although his success has been celebrated, in many ways till now, Wright has also kept his own story on fade. ‘Til now!