173:Reverie

ARTIST
CATALOGUE

New York, N.Y. –  LatchKey Gallery is pleased to present, Jesse Wright, Reverie. Opening February 11 – March 19, 2022. Wright’s visual approach references his blended Jamaican-American heritage creating a language that addresses his ongoing allegory on displacement, migration, and scripture.

On view are a series of works created from 2018 – 2022 which forge visual circuits between historical narratives and present-day experiences. Images created from Wright’s time in Jamaica are bridged with his American life resulting in works rich in texture – layered in symbolism and meaning. Shifting from collage to geometrical patterns, to painterly gestures, Wright uses his maternal relatives as archetypes of migration. Hope, aspiration, strength, and longing are all depicted giving attention to the complexity of humanity.

Anchoring the exhibition is Dog with Boy at Night in Jamaica.  Assembled by multiple panels, into a harmonious triangle, the young figure gleefully plays with his dog highlighting the divinity of everyday life. Stylistically, Wright purposely outlines his figures to reveal what lies within.  Here, the boy is between two worlds, the Jamaican flag firmly over his right shoulder, and on the left and within, the symbolic guidance of the night sky. Dog with Boy at Night in Jamaica serves as a metaphor for sacrifice, the boy’s unknowing future and his ultimate loss of country, identity, and sense of home.

Throughout the exhibition, scale and style evoke the artist's urban culture. Encoded samplings are pulled from his blended heritage, resulting in surfaces that invite a constant change in focus, and a meditation on detail. The work of Wright is an ecumenical assemblage of art history, collecting inspiration from the fervent period of the Renaissance through to the commercial symbolism of Pop Art. His visual language speaks to the tenor of our times, offering complex and diverse reverence to home. 

The exhibition will be accompanied by an essay from Jewels Dodson

Jesse Wright is an interdisciplinary artist based in Newark, New Jersey. He received his BA from The School of Visual Arts in New York City. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions Passaic County Art Center, Hawthorne, NJ; Newark Historical Society, Newark, NJ; Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ; Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ. and ArtYard, Frenchtown, NJ. This is his first solo exhibition with LatchKey Gallery.

The gallery is located at 173 Henry Street, NY, NY. For further information and press inquiries, please contact Amanda Uribe at amanda@latchkeygallery.com