Known for his large-scale abstract wall paintings, artist Richard Wright had great success with this untitled piece displayed at The Tate in London. The elegant gold painting covered almost an entire wall in an abstract, leafy pattern enclosed in a rectangular formation.
To create the piece, Wright utilized meticulous techniques, including some similar to Renaissance fresco painters. He first drew on paper and transferred the images to the wall by rubbing chalk through holes in the pages. He then painted over the image and covered it with gold leaf. Within the space, light reflecting off of the metallic paint created a piece that was ever-changing based on movement and various points of view.
The Glasgow-based artist prefers to create site-specific works that maintain a certain ephemerality, explaining that he is “interested in the fragility of the moment of engagement–in heightening [and emphasizing] that moment of its existence.” This piece won the Turner Prize and, at the end of the show in typical Wright style, it was painted over and erased forever.
