Spring vibes at Arts Center
‘spRinGeey’ show conveys feel of the season
Stepping through the gallery at Texarkana’s Regional Arts Center, you might suspect that the spring season blooming outside has been brought to life inside.
That’s because the art of Amy Beth Wright, who grew up in Texarkana but now calls Houston home, has the feel of spring—its colors and energy—in the more than 90 works that make up her solo show, “spRinGeey,” which just opened and runs through May 12.
A reception with wine and light snacks will be held Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Earlier in the day from 11 a.m. to noon, a yoga class with nidra meditation will be held at the exhibit. The public is invited to both.
Wright’s work here includes paintings, sound works and interactive sculptures. A clue to her approach with this work is found in her artist’s statement about the show.
“For this exhibition, just as I am more interested in creativity than representation— is a made up word evoking playful ideas like plants springing up from the ground and my sculpted paint springing up from the fabric,” she writes in her statement.
In fact, most of the work was inspired by a week-long visit to her aunt’s Galveston home and its garden, where she could meditate and, disconnected from technological trappings like a cell phone, record what she felt as she spent time there.
As an artist, Wright is more concerned with creativity than representation. “I like the idea of leaving things open,” she says. She wants an audience to be able to use their own imagination and place themselves into the work, and she sees abstraction as one way to enable this.
“I feel like abstraction might be more
important than ever now,” Wright said, noting it can be a way of simplifying things that allows us to be a part of the art.
“I think if I had to characterize my work it’s kind of conceptual painting,” she said. She doesn’t want to limit herself to one style. “I’m always interested in pushing the limits of painting, what it can be or what our expectations are.”
Part of Wright’s process involves appropriating the textile style employed by her great-grandmother when creating blankets, lace crochet and similar work. When she works with the patterns her great-grandmother made, she finds herself slipping into meditation, she admits. For her, this also puts her in closer connection to family, including her great-grandmother’s experience in the Great Depression.
“I’ve been using those as a foundation for composition for about four years,” Wright said of following her great-grandmother’s textile patterns. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, she was told to grab her most important belongings, and so she immediately went for her great-grandmother’s blankets.
For Wright, an exhibit at the Regional Arts Center has special meaning. It’s the first place she ever saw a professional art show, so she sees this exhibit as a chance to make a work specific to the space. To that end, there’s a purpose to the layout of this exhibit, as if you’re going through the day in this garden. There’s even the sense of flowers coming up through snow. It reflects how the artist responds to natural rhythms.
“I think about seasons and cycles,” Wright said.
In her artist’s statement she speaks to this, noting how “weaving patterns are symbols about consciously intertwining more, for me with family and friends.” She finds beauty in both nature and community, she said, and sees a deep tie between flora and the human world.
Wright, who teaches adjunct at Houston Community College, received her BFA from Savannah College of Art & Design and an MFA from the University of Houston. In Houston, her work has been exhibited at such venues as the Blaffer Art Museum, DiverseWorks, Lawndale Art Center and Art League Houston. It’s been exhibited nationally, too, and can be seen in the “Discovering Drawing” textbook and in “New American Paintings 2015 MFA Annual.”
In a world where so much of our life is mediated through a screen, Wright said, she hopes visitors find peace and enjoyment looking at this art. She aims for it to be accessible.
“It’s for everyone, and even if they have no experience with art I think they’ll be able to find something that they can relate to and enjoy,” Wright said.
(Admission is free. The Regional Arts Center is open at 321 W. 4th St. in Texarkana, Texas, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. More info: 903-792-8681 or TRAHC.org.)