Artist Profile
This month, our gallery director, Jillian Asplund interviewed Dion (pronounced "dye-on") Wright, artist and co-owner of Spectator Studio in downtown Flagstaff. You may have seen Wright featured recently in the Arizona Daily Sun for his work on the Flagstaff PAWS project. Wright was chosen to design and create the model for a series of 40 life sized mountain lion sculptures to be painted and placed at various locations throughout town. Additionally, Wright is best known for his larger than life creations, often animals of a playful nature, employing materials one might find at the kitchen table or in an antique store. We'll let Dion explain though.
JA: If you had only 10 words to describe your artwork, what would they be?
DW: Development of intricate abstract elements that derive from anatomical accuracy.
JA: Are you participating in the Recycled Art Exhibit this year? What kind of offerings do you have?
DW: Whimsy. Silverware reptile called "Unlikelisaurus" and silverware bird chasing critter, called, "Fast Food".
JA: Why old silverware? Is there any significance behind it besides being a cool recycled material?
DW: No. I had made a few spoon frogs for fun, and this guy started showing up with crates of the stuff too cheap to refuse. The forms are simple and pure, and lend themselves to whimsical usage.
JA: I hear you do a bit of painting too...
DW: I paint when I have something to communicate via imagery. I never "dabble", and regard all my paintings as serious.
JA: What are some non-art influences that inspire your work?
DW: Aldous Huxley. General biology and astronomy. Need to communicate. Partisan intellectual intent to balance form and content.
Wright's work is featured in the Recycled Art Exhibition at the Coconino Center for the Arts, open April 7 through May 7, 2009.
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