Object Image

The Stairwell Project

Wright often uses abstract shapes and lines to articulate the spaces he paints. For this project Wright designed a flower-like motif. However, by painting the design black, he has made these delicate shapes take on a new 'gothic', even menacing aspect. The motif is perhaps inspired by the honeysuckle design of the original, circular decoration on the ceiling of the stairwell. Yet, on another level, the rows of delicate organic shapes make one mindful of the generations of orphans who climbed and descended the stairs of the building when it used to be an orphanage. Wright repeats the motif, but changes its orientation, its size and alignment according to where it is placed on the structure of th...
2010
Acrylic on wall
GMA 5153
Image © The Artist, 2024
Text © National Galleries of Scotland, 2024