March 2007, John Wright (F.R.S.A., N.D.D., A.T.D.)
Over the years we have looked at the work of many of John Wright's students but never really highlighted the work of the master. Now is an opportune time since John is working with the Welsh Arts Council hoping to develop a peripatetic exhibition of his works from London to Madrid. This is not the first time John has been involved with a travelling exhibition, half a century ago he was a founder member of the '56 Group' that travelled across Britain, Europe and America promoting contemporary Welsh art. But that is leaping ahead.
Although born in London, John was brought up and educated in Wales. In 1939, during the Second W.W. he was evacuated to Carmarthen where his art training started at the Carmarthen Art College. He taught painting at Hereford School of Art before joining the staff, eventually working his way to Principal, of the Newport and Gwent College of Art and Design that later became Gwent Polytechnic and the University of Wales. In 1956 he became a founder member of the '56 Group', his paintings have been shown in many exhibitions in Wales, London, the U.S.A. and Canada. He won the Llandaff Festival Prize in 1961.
John is much more than just a painter. In 1968 he was awarded the Medal of the Town of Arles for a documentary film and, in 1969 he won the Montera d'Or, the highest award at the Montpellier International Film Festival. He is also a founder governor of the National Film School.
In 1969, he was invited to assist Lord Snowdon designing the interior of Caernarfon castle, scene of the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales.
John claims that single event was the luckiest in his life since afterwards his reputation, and the value of his work rocketed. His work is now exhibited in galleries all over the world and appears in numerous collections including the National Museum of Wales, the National Library of Wales, the Glynn Vivian Gallery in Swansea, in fact all the major galleries and museums in Wales, the Universities of Wales and Oxford, the Tate Gallery in London, the Contemporary Arts Society, the Knox Foundation in Boston, the Museum of Modern Art in Washington DC and in national collections in Mexico, America and South America.
In 1989, following early retirement, John and his wife Elizabeth moved to Spain where they settled in Jimena. It was here that John started his first art class that now meets in the Sofia Community Centre at Estacion Jimena. A few years later John and Elizabeth moved to Estepona and John started his second class at the ICE club.
As well as having his paintings scattered around the world John's home is also a gallery in it's own right. So what has inspired this talented and prolific artist? Land and seascapes in Wales of course, but then you find that 'the Matterhorn incredibly lit by the moon', has also been a factor. Digging a little deeper you find that this artist is also a man of action. John has climbed every ridge of the Matterhorn and most mountains over 4,000 metres. Reaching the world's most inaccessible places demands mental as well as physical stamina but John has been compensated for the effort, in his own words, 'The inaccessible places that needed more than usual desires to get to were an entry for me to a world that I can equate with music, painting and physical and mental striving'. Life's experiences, a full and varied life at that, are not just expressed in and through his work but also through his person. Nobody who knows John will disagree with the statement that he is quietly introspective, at times, boisterously funny, at times but always articulate, in speech and on canvas.
Even though John commutes from his home to both art classes each week he still has time for his own work including his series 'Great Little Trains of Wales' that he painted between 1996 and 2007. We are sure to hear more of the man and his work.