Tricia Wright - Paper Variable 2023
Small Matters, 2023
Blue paper, 22 karat gold leaf
Variable 1/4
SOLD
Tricia Wright
Rapture: an edition of four suites in twelve unique motifs
Dieu Donné is pleased to release Rapture, a new Paper Variables edition of four suites (Small Matters, Time and the Bell, Apotheosis, and Memento) by Tricia Wright. Working with Master Collaborator Tatiana Ginsberg, the artist used gold leaf gilding and 3-D printed embossing techniques in tandem with handmade paper.
“The works in this edition explore my personal relationship with nature and reflect on time and the value of human touch. They share the visual device of a halo form, an archaic signifier of glory and a vehicle with which I explore the idea of contemporary exaltation. In adopting this form I also draw from the symbolic lexicon of my own catholic upbringing and apply it instead to the secular experience, exalting nature and honoring direct human connection in an increasingly virtual world. I exploit the material value associated with gold to celebrate the worth and beauty of the natural world.
The process for this edition begins and ends with the hand. It started with line drawings of my own hand and of natural organisms from which I generated custom 3-D printed forms. These forms were used to emboss handmade papers pigmented in cream, blue, mushroom, and pink. I then manipulated the reverse of the embossed areas by hand, intensifying their definition and expression, and finally, I gilded the raised surfaces with gold leaf in hues ranging from 12 to 24 karats.”–––– Tricia Wright
To collect work from this edition, please explore our Membership Program.
Small Matters Suite
“Small Matters expresses my fascination with small, often overlooked creatures, my admiration for the resilience and patience they display, and for their beauty and variety. The hand in these works is my own, they celebrate my personal connection to nature and the possibility of intimacy with the natural word. In this suite (and also in Time and the Bell) the halos are comprised of insects, thereby functioning both as form and content.”
Time and the Bell Suite
“here, I am
In a culture steeped in self-promotion and virtual presence, “here, I am“ is a paradoxical assertion of humility. It acknowledges the importance, for me, of closeness to nature, as a place to maintain a truer sense of self. The encircling mayflies are a salve, and also a caution to remember the value of the physical world.
now, or now
The time paradox inherent in the words “now, or now” refers to the challenge of quieting the mind during meditation practice, when our consciousness of time passing, second by second, makes the possibility of fully inhabiting time more elusive, or as T.S. Eliot says so concisely “to be conscious is not to be in time” (Four Quartets, Burnt Norton II). But “now, or now” also refers to time on a big scale, and the words encircled by short-lived mayflies can also be read as an environmental imperative, as a call to action.
I grow old... I grow...
These five embossed words and their ellipses are from line 120 of T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. In its original form the phrase repeats, in my piece I have omitted the last word, countering the poem’s existential dread and fear of a wasted life with a hopeful association between old age and personal growth.”
Apotheosis Suite
“In Apotheosis I adapt religious symbolic language again to a secular purpose, using the halo form to exult natural organisms to a status historically reserved for the miraculous. Microscopic organisms, snails, and the complex, unfathomable octopus comfortably inhabit this miraculous space, exploring and traversing its geometric form.”
Memento Suite
“The last suite, Memento, considers the intimacy of touch and honors small, everyday interactions with the physical world. In formalized gestures three objects—potato peeler, flower, and awl—are held aloft as things of consequence, dignifying the small tasks and experiences they represent.
The process for this edition begins and ends with the hand. It started with line drawings of my own hand and of natural organisms from which I generated custom 3-D printed forms. These forms were used to emboss handmade papers pigmented in cream, blue, mushroom, and pink. I then manipulated the reverse of the embossed areas by hand, intensifying their definition and expression, and finally, I gilded the raised surfaces with gold leaf in hues ranging from 12 to 24 karats.”
About the Artist
Originally from England and educated in London, Tricia Wright moved permanently to the US in 1999. She operates a full-time art studio in North Stamford, CT, and maintains close connections with Europe. Her works are held in museum, corporate, government, and private collections in the US, UK, Europe, and Africa. Recent achievements include her 2019 MTA Arts & Design Public Art Commission, a permanent large-scale installation in glass and metal at Crestwood Railway Station, New York. In 2019 she was a Workspace Artist in Residence at Dieu Donné, Brooklyn, at Vermont Studio Center in 2020, and she was a 2017 Pollock/Krasner/Arts Mid-Hudson grantee.
Tricia has considerable professional experience as an educator. She designed specialized visitor art tours for the NTHP at the Glass House (CT), Olana (NY), and Lyndhurst (NY), where she also trained and managed a team of visitor experience guides. She has worked extensively as an art educator at Judd Foundation (NY) and DIA Beacon (NY), and as a private art guide, creating private custom designed tours of NYC museums and galleries. Tricia also has a background in arts publishing as editor, contributing consultant, and author; among her own book publications is American Art & Artists, published by Harper Collins in association with the Smithsonian Institute.
For more information, please visit her website:
https://triciawright.com
About Paper Variables
Celebrate the possibilities! The Paper Variables series are unique collectable works in a limited edition. Each piece is handmade in our studios, and artists love the chance to experiment with different colors and additions to make each piece distinctive. For collectors, it’s an opportunity to acquire works by well known artists at an attractive price. Signed and numbered by the artist.