Natasha Wright is a New Zealand born artist based in New York. She creates large-scale paintings, which fuse figuration and abstraction. Wright explores ideas of gender, sexuality, power and aggression. Her work critiques the representation of females throughout history alongside contemporary references.
Wright has exhibited both in the United States and internationally. Solo shows include “A Place To Stand” – (Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland, 2021), Sista Grotto - (Spring Break Art Fair, New York 2020), When Black Swallows Red (John Davis Gallery, New York, 2019), Sista Chapel (SFA Projects, New York, 2019) and Angels and Icons (Parlour Projects, Hawkes Bay, 2019).
In 2017, Wright received her MFA from The New York Studio School. She was awarded The New York Studio School Scholarship, The Jane Chace Carroll Merit Award and the LCU Award. Her work has been featured in Art Critical, Harper’s Bazaar, The New Zealand Artist Magazine and The New Zealand Herald. In 2018, Wright’s solo show Les Biches was named as one of the five best female art exhibitions in NYC by Harper’s Bazaar.
Past residencies include DNA Residency (Freight and Volume Gallery, NY). Wright is a volunteer at Art Start and The Exceptional Artists Foundation - an organization dedicated to empowering the special needs arts community. Natasha’s work is held in private collections in Aotearoa and internationally.
BIOGRAPHY
BORN: Aotearoa New Zealand
LIVES: New York
EDUCATION:
2017- Masters in Fine Arts - The New York Studio School, New York
2013- Central St Martins – Visual Arts, Foundation Course – London
2010- Bachelor of Design (Honors), Massey University, Poneke Wellington
2008- Design and Management - Parsons, The New School, New York
AWARDS / AFFILIATIONS:
2021 – Diocesan Women to Watch Award – Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
2019– NYFA Artist / Entrepreneur, Saratoga Springs
2016– Jane Chace Carroll Merit Award
2016 – New York Studio School Scholarship,
2016 – LCU Award (New York Studio School)
2010– Honors Award – Massey University, Poneke Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand,
2007 - Young Inspiring New Zealanders Award
SELECTED SOLO SHOWS:
2024 - “Les Biches” Sanderson Contemporary (Upcoming); “Briefly Gorgeous” - M Contemporary, Sydney, Australia
2023 - “What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This” - M Contemporary, Sydney, Australia
2022 - “She, Her, Hers” - Curated by Emily McElwreath, New York, United States
2022– “After Party”- Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland, New Zealand; “Because the Night”- M Contemporary, Sydney, Australia
2021– “A Place to Stand” – Sanderson Contemporary, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
2020– “Sista Grotto” – Spring Break Art Fair, New York
2019- “Sista Chapel”, SFA Projects - New York; “Angels and Icons”, Parlor Projects - Hawkes Bay, New Zealand; “When Black Swallows Red”, John Davis Gallery – New York
2018- “Les Biches”, curated by JMN Artists, 61 Hester St - New York
2017- “Tabula Rasa” - The New York Studio School, Thesis show, New York, United States
2016 - "Masculin Féminin" - Solo show - MFA Thesis show, NYSS Gallery, NYC, United States
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS:
2021– “Leaving the Body” – Curated by Morgan Everhart - The Yard, City Hall – New York
2020– “It’s Complicated” – Two Person show - Spring Break Art Show – Los Angeles
2019- “I Don’t Go By That” - Curated by Joachim Pissarro, Steven Harvey – New York; Holiday Benefit in partnership with Solace House - M David & Co, New York; “Body Beautiful” – Curated by Indira Ceserine, The Untitled Space, New York; “Thuderdome”– Curated by Becky Yazden, Ridgewood Open Studios, New York; The New York Studio School Alumni Invitational, Curated by Claire Sherman; “New Narrative Now” – M David & Co, Brooklyn, New York; “Origins” – The Art Vacancy, Bowery, Lower East Side, New York; Winter juried exhibition – Curated by Elisa Jensen, Blue Mountain Gallery, NY
2018- “Borderwalls" - The Border Gallery, 56 Bogart St, New York, United States; "27th Annual Juried Show" - Curated by Karen Wilkin, Bowery Gallery, New York; "X Marks The Spot" - NYSS Alumni invitational show, New York, United States; "Missed Connections" - Curated by JMN Artists, 137 Eldridge St, New York, United States
2017 - “Small Works” - Vivid Space, San Diego, United States; "Material Matters" - Curated by JMN Artists, Peninsula Gallery, Brooklyn, New York; "Secret Garden" - The Untitled Space, New York, United States; Hohenberg Travel Award show - NYSS Gallery, New York, United States
2013 - "Dysmorphia" - Central Saint Martins - London, UK
2009 - Massey University BDes (Honors) exhibition show - Massey University, New Zealand
2008 - Summer invitational show - Parsons, The New School, New York, United States
RESIDENCIES:
2019- 2020 -DNA Residency, Visiting Artists Collection
2019- 2020 - DNA Residency, Cape Cod, United States
2018- L´Appartamento Residency, Naples, Italy
PRESS:
2022- Spring / Summer feature - Remix Magazine (print); Everhat, Morgan. “Natasha Wright Explores the female Body as Icon” A Woman’s Thing
2021–The Denizen Magazine, Fashion Quarterly
2019 – Femme Art Review - “Dark Angels and Amazons” , Two Coats of Paint – “Benjamin Pritchard and
Natasha Wright: Dark, Murky and Subterranean” , White Hot Magazine – “Noah Becker talks to Painter Natasha Wright” , Fashion Quarterly – “Get to Know New Zealand Artist Before Her Homecoming Exhibition”, The Denizen -“Prominent Kiwi Artist Tells Us About Her Upcoming Exhibition, Angels and Icons”
2018 – Whitehot Magazine – “Les Biches by Natasha Wright”, Art Critical – “Moments of Heightened Sensation – Natasha Wright Discusses Her Work with Nancy Elsamanoudi” , Harper’s Bazaar – “The Best Female Art Exhibitions To See This Fall”, The Denizen – “Four Upcoming Exhibits That Are Worth Booking A Plane Ticket For”
2017- The New Zealand Artist Magazine - "Tabula Rasa", The Denizen Magazine - “ Girl Uninterrupted “, Harper's Bazaar - "How Feminist Artists Are Staging Their Own Protests with Paint”; "A New Zealand artist explores how women are, in fact, extremely complicated" Feature + interview in Denizen Magazine; 2014 - The New Zealand Herald – Viva “ Drawing the runway in New York City”, Feature; The Daily Telegraph, Australia - "Drawing a line in the Sand on her career" – Feature
2015- NZ Edge - "Drawing the runway in New York City" Feature
2008- The New Zealand Herald - Viva Magazine "One to Watch"- Feature profile