Janette Wright

Born towards the tail end of the Sixties, I am a Cape Town-based artist who specialises in abstract painting. I share my home with my husband and two dogs, and we love camping, hiking and mountain biking (some of the best trails in the world are in the Western Cape).
 
Drawing and painting is an act through which I challenge myself. A blank canvas is daunting, and the creative process changes me as I push through frustration to achieve results.
 
Creating grows me intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. As the work evolves, so does my style and my thinking process. Making art is not about repeating what is known and safe, but rather about having the courage to try new ways of creating and not to get despondent when it does not pan out the way I planned.
 
It is a process of continuously stepping out and making mistakes. Mistakes are opportunities to push further or to start again. As I form shapes, build up and break down layers of paint, dissolve pigments and scrub off the surface, the final image begins to reveal itself. The painting becomes infused with and reflects my interpretation of the world, my thoughts and my emotions. Layers of paint and texture reveal and conceal traces of something left behind, a remnant tha...

I graduated from Michaelis School of Fine Art (University of Cape Town) in 1989.

After my studies I worked in a design-related field for several years before traveling to Europe. I started painting and drawing in earnest on my return, and this led to freelancing as an illustrator and participating in successful exhibitions of abstract works in 1995/6.
 
While illness led to a hiatus in my fine-art career for over a decade, I ran children’s art classes and taught art at a pre-school in Cape Town. Later I worked in the publishing industry doing Photoshop editing, and also designed and sold illustrated greeting cards and other stationery. Throughout I freelanced as a graphic designer and illustrator in the educational sector.
 
Since shifting my focus back to fine arts and painting in 2013, I have participated in various art workshops and reorganised my studio practice radically, working productively towards group and solo exhibitions.

Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town, 1995, 2016.
Various group exhibitions, Cape Town.
East West Art Exchange, London, 2016.
IS Art Gallery, Franschhoek, 2016.
Mullers Gallery, Cape Town, April 2017.
State of the Art, Cape Town, 2017.
DF Contemporary Winter Exhibition, Cape Town, June 2017.
Association of Visual Arts Members’ Exhibition, Cape Town, July 2017.
art.b Gallery Vuleka Art Competition and Exhibition (3rd Prize winner), August 2017.
art.b Gallery 2018 Member’s Exhibition.
art.b Gallery “Three Graces” group exhibition. March 2018.
art.b Gallery “Tiny Treasures” group exhibition. June 2018.
ART NEXT LEVEL / 33 Contemporary Gallery, Seattle, USA: “8x8 Self Portrait Exhibition”. July 2018.
art.b Gallery “Flight” group exhibition of monoprints, lino prints and etching. July 2018