The Alliance Gallery featured member artist, J. Barry Wright, still remembers receiving his first camera at the age of ten. He never let go of his instant fascination with images, eventually getting a Master’s Degree from the Professional Photographers of America. Working in both color and black-and-white images, he hones in on the unexpected, the unusual in the ordinary, the singular. What he captures, in and of itself, often brings Gallery visitors to a complete halt, so drawn in are they to his work. Wright explains, “I think that one of the reasons I find photography so appealing is that each image is real and a snippet of beauty taken from actual live surroundings.” He adds with a laugh, “And quite possibly the fact I could not draw to save my life.”
But the true unique aspect that Wright adds rests in his subtle enhancements, transitioning the a real life photograph, often of an ordinary image, into unique artistic expression.
Having grown up in the Midwest in New Mexico, Minnesota, Kansas, and now Missouri, he detects the beauty beneath the seeming “Midwest ordinary.” It might be a singular leaf, an abandoned cemetery, a salamander, stunning clouds towering over a building, rusting cars, an aging staircase circling into a roofless sky past pane-less windows.
Once a portrait photographer, today Wright follows dirt and gravel roads to out-of-the-way places, constantly seeking a way to see the world, particularly the Midwest, through the lens of his camera, bringing it back for us to enjoy.
An opening reception will be held Saturday, September 10th, from 5:00 until 8:00 pm. A photograph by J. Barry Wright will be given away in a free drawing held at 6:00. This reception coincides with Hannibal’s Second Saturday Gallery Night.
