Monika Wright

WHAT ART IS ALL ABOUT FOR ME

“Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.” Picasso

The quote by Pablo Picasso rings so very true to me. Art feeds my souI. Creating it is essential to my happiness. It defines who I am – an artist. It took a great many years for me to have the courage to call myself an artist. Although I have always ‘created’, defining myself as an artist has been a great revelation to me and inspired me to explore many mediums. I am designing wearable one of a kind art, painting and felting art and exploring photography in new and exciting ways. Creating matters. Having an audience to enjoy and appreciate the results of these creations is like passing on the energy and joy I experienced while making it all happen! 

Biography

I grew up in a creative environment and was encouraged to explore art and the world around me. I have travelled around the world, camera and sketchbook in hand and although I still have a Wanderlust, I have also learned to see that beauty and interesting subject matter can be found in every step I take through life, both near and far away.

I am drawn to colour, then form; to light and shadow.To me, art of any kind comes from life, from experimentation with new ways of seeing the world and interpreting those visions in a way that others can experience. With my camera, I record my version of that which already exists, then transform that into an image that I hope will, in turn, inspire the viewer. In my paintings, I start with a theme or idea and let the work evolve. The evolution and transformation of all my creations, including jewellery designs and felting, from raw materials to finished work encompass the element of surprise for me and hopefully delight for those of you will see my work.

Continue to explore the world around you and you will see things in a different light tomorrow than you did today!

 Contact Information

Email:   monika@monikawright.com

Web:    monikawright.com

Phone: 902-229-2048

Exhibitions & Publications

Upcoming 2010

• February-March 2010 – A Tribute to Joaquin Torres Garcia, Urugay, South America – Group Show

2009

• October – “Free Flow” – ViewPoint Gallery – Group Show
• Since 2008 – Lailas Inc. Art Publisher & Distributor – Galleries and retailers in North America
• January – Advantage Gallery, Fall River, NS – “The Dancers” – Group show
• Since 2006 – Art Sales & Rentals – AGNS, Halifax, NS
• Since 2006 – ViewPoint Fine Art Photography Gallery , group shows throughout the year
• May – “Flight” – Shearwater Aviation Museum 100 Anniversary – Group show

2008

• Since July 2006  Art Sales & Rentals, Halifax NS  Juried works 
• November 7 – December 5   ViewPoint Gallery, Halifax, NS “Intimate Portraits”
• November 7 – 30   Advantage Gallery & Escape Café, Halifax, NS “Gallery to Grinds, Juried show
• October 3 – 29   Corridor Gallery, Halifax, NS “Mixed Messages” Nocturne & Photopolis Juried Show
• July 1 – 29   Fort Point Museum Gallery, LaHave, NS “Serendipity” 
• April 28 to May 24   FRED, Halifax, NS “Art off the Map” Group Show at FRED,
• April 17 – 30   Art Sales & Rentals, AGNS, Halifax, NS ”New Faces”         
• February 20 – April 2   ViewPoint Gallery, Halifax, NS  “The Stillness Shall Be Dancing
• April – July   Cumberland Health Care Foundation Art Gallery, Amherst, NS  “Inner Landscapes”
• January 10 – February 17   ViewPoint Gallery, Halifax, NS   “NewPoints – Essence of You”
• January 20 – February  Pier 21, Halifax, NS  “Inspired by China” – Pier 21 Gallery

 2007

• Continued from 2006  Art Sales & Rentals, Halifax NS  Juried  – rented & sold
• November 2 –3 Argyle Fine Arts, Halifax, NS  “ Ross Creek Secret” 
• November 5 – 29  ViewPoint Gallery,  Halifax, NS “Urban Statements”
• November – March 2008 Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS),  Halifax, NS  “Art in a Box” Juried show
• September 1 – 30  LACDA,  Los Angeles, California  – “Snap to Grid” 
• July 5 -29  ViewPoint Gallery, Halifax, NS Solo Exhibition – “Transformations” 
• May 28, 2007  Argyle Fine Arts, Halifax, NS  “St. Joseph’s Night of Art”
• April 1 – May 30  Aggie Martin Gallery, Solo Show, “Carried Away” Brampton, ON
• February – May  Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS), Halifax,NS “Art in a Box” Juried
  April –  Anna Leonowens Gallery, NSCAD, Halifax, NS “Night Shift”

Publications

• April -  Enroute Magazine  50th Anniversary Issue “Flash” – 2008
• Continued to 2009 –  Laila’s Inc. Fine Art Publishers, Brampton, ON  (Canada & USA) – 2008
• Art Evolution Fine Art Publishers, Calgary, AB, (Canada & USA) – 2006

Reviews/ Interviews

• Breakfast Television, Halifax, NS interview for “NewPoints – Essence of You”
• The ChronicleHerald, Halifax, NS feature for “NewPoints – Essence of You”
• Amherst Daily News, Amherst, NS  Interview for “Inner Landscapes”
• Daily News, Halifax, NS  Interview & feature for “Transformations” solo show
• Brampton Guardian – Arts & Entertainment feature for “Carried Away” solo show

 Membership

• ViewPoint Gallery Cooperative – Vice President
• VANS, Visual Arts Nova Scotia
• SCA, Society of Canadian Artists

Education

• Graduated from the University of Windsor, Windsor, ON
• University of Western Ontario, London, ON
• Travelled throughout Asia, South Pacific & Africa (other travels throughout my life included more than 60 countries)
• Nikon School of Photography
• Humber School for Writers, Toronto, ON
• Neilsen Centre – Community Arts Program, Toronto, ON
• Callum Cameron – classes – Artist, Bucerias, Mexico
• Justine Kerr – workshop in Felting
• Tara Grude – workshop in Felting
• Chistopher Webb – Realism workshop -Artist in Halifax, NS
• Heathery Sayeau – Faces & Figures workshop – Artist in Halifax, NS