JAMIE WRIGHT

ARTIST STATEMENT

I make portraits of landscapes based on views taken from back-country hikes and canoe trips throughout North America. I begin each work by constructing a composition based on rough sketches and photos, as well as my remembrance of the places I have visited; how I got to each vista, and what I felt while there. I then introduce colour and texture that initially opposes the reality of the places while invoking a more nuanced experience of the landscapes. I slowly build layers of oil paint, observing each piece closely over the course of several months, resulting in densely detailed and vividly coloured scenes. I hope to share the experience of having visited these inaccessible places.

I hold an MFA from the Glasgow School of Art, and a BFA (hons) from the University of Manitoba School of Art. For the past 17 years I have worked in local Artist-Run centres, specifically as co-director of aceartinc. and executive director of Martha Street Studio. I taught drawing and painting sessionally at the UofM School of Art for a decade and am now the Gallery and Collections Technician for the University of Winnipeg.