|
STEPHEN WRIGHT
BEACH BREAK May 6 - June 7, 2023 Artist Reception: Saturday, May 6, 4-7pm |
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Billis Williams Gallery is pleased to present Stephen Wright: New Paintings, the gallery's second solo exhibition of oil paintings by Los Angeles-based artist Stephen Wright. This show features Wright's most recent waterscape paintings and opens with and artist’s reception on Saturday, May 6th from 4-7pm, and continues through June 7th.
Stephen Wright’s paintings transport us to the middle of the ocean - a space rife with complexities. There is a sense of wonder at the beauty but also a sense of the power of the ocean - the beauty of the sun dappled sea and the strength of a wave rising in front of us are juxtaposed in these compositions. Bubbles and light dance across the surface and hints of the shore are visible on the far away horizon - we are adrift in the in-between - alone with the motion of the waves.
To feel closer to that experience, Wright uses an open-ended painting process, starting at a single point or corner of the canvas and moving across it. Moving back and forth between light and form, he is constantly making decisions as to which is more important. The paintings capture the motion of water with a deftness that is transporting. Upon closer inspection, the moments captured within each canvas veer into abstraction with thickly applied paint coming off the surface and out of focus moments leaving the viewer feeling the need to blink the water from their eyes.
Wright was born and grew up in Los Angeles and received his BFA from California State University Long Beach. He has exhibited throughout the US and his work has appeared in Fine Art Connoisseur, Luxe Magazine, New American Painting, Poets & Artists, American Art Collector, The New York Post, and ARTNews. His work appears in numerous private collections internationally. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
Stephen Wright’s paintings transport us to the middle of the ocean - a space rife with complexities. There is a sense of wonder at the beauty but also a sense of the power of the ocean - the beauty of the sun dappled sea and the strength of a wave rising in front of us are juxtaposed in these compositions. Bubbles and light dance across the surface and hints of the shore are visible on the far away horizon - we are adrift in the in-between - alone with the motion of the waves.
To feel closer to that experience, Wright uses an open-ended painting process, starting at a single point or corner of the canvas and moving across it. Moving back and forth between light and form, he is constantly making decisions as to which is more important. The paintings capture the motion of water with a deftness that is transporting. Upon closer inspection, the moments captured within each canvas veer into abstraction with thickly applied paint coming off the surface and out of focus moments leaving the viewer feeling the need to blink the water from their eyes.
Wright was born and grew up in Los Angeles and received his BFA from California State University Long Beach. He has exhibited throughout the US and his work has appeared in Fine Art Connoisseur, Luxe Magazine, New American Painting, Poets & Artists, American Art Collector, The New York Post, and ARTNews. His work appears in numerous private collections internationally. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
VIEW EXHIBITION
Billis Williams Gallery opened as George Billis Gallery Los Angeles in 2004. . Tressa Williams joined as director in 2009 and became partner in 2021. Billis Williams Gallery builds on the Billis legacy and shows emerging to mid-career artists with a special focus on Southern California painters. The gallery is dedicated to exhibiting exceptional work in richly varied visual vocabularies ranging from abstraction to photorealism.
Billis Williams Gallery
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
[email protected]
www.BillisWilliams.com
Billis Williams Gallery
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
[email protected]
www.BillisWilliams.com