Charles Wright
Surfside Beach, South Carolina
My current work is a series of work done in wood; however, I continues to produce art from Plexiglas, stone, and a variety of other materials.
Message
Charles Allen Wright is a retired art professor. He is a native of Conway, S.C. He began his studies in art at Coastal Carolina College (1974-1976); and completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio in 1978 with a concentration in painting and sculpture. In December 1983, he received the Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Washington University St. Louis, Missouri.
From 2017 - 2019 he served as the Dean of the College at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids Michigan. Before Kendall, he served as a Professor of Art and the Chair of the Department of Art at Western Illinois University from 2007 - 2017. From 1994 - 2005, he served as Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Coastal Carolina University. His teaching career started at Coastal Carolina in 1885 as an adjunct sculpture professor.
Charles' service to the arts includes serving in various roles with the following groups.
- President of the Board of Directors of Horry County Arts and Cultural Events or ACE
- Board of Directors of the National Council of Arts Administrators
- Board of Directors of the Franklin G. Burroughs and Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Accreditation site evaluator team leader with the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
- American Alliance of Museums member
- Tri-State Sculptors
He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the College Art Association (CAA) where he served in various roles.
- Vice-President of Committees
- A member of the Executive Committee of the CAA
- Chair of the Professional Practices Committee (PPC)
As an arts administrator, Charles sought to be an academic leader, an advocate, and a facilitator for students and faculty. As an artist, he continues to produce art from wood, Plexiglas, stone, and a variety of other materials. His art-making continues to be primarily cathartic and life-sustaining pursuits as an object maker. His motto continues to be, "ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS" - his translation, "LIFE IS SHORT, BUT ART IS FOREVER"
His wife, Art Historian Jo-Ann Morgan, and Charles currently live in Surfside Beach South Carolina.
Statement
The primary focus of this current series of works is to carve wood from trees that I grew up with as a child. What motivates me to work with this material is my belief that any material is capable of being worked in a way that highlights that material’s essential characteristic or inner beauty. I also feel as if I have a spiritual connection with this wood and the wood spirit Hamadryas, or wood nymphs that are believed to inhabit trees. Using this material allows me to continue my lifelong connection with the memories and associations that I suppose are the real inner beauty (Hamadryas and nymphs) of this wood.
I am excited the most by the creation of nonobjective and biomorphic wood forms. I am currently drawn to the sense of clarity and relative speed of making that wood gives my working processes. I like the exactness and precision that I am able to achieve with finishing wood. With some work, I cover wooden balls with bits of gold leaf, mother of pearl, and fragmented eggshell that are then polished and lacquered to become pearl-like precious objects. I create non-objective work, with occasional work that references human or animal forms. Geometric elements of Stainless Steel triangles, circles, half-circles, angles, straight lines, and curves are familiar elements that are essential to my creative processes.
My use of eggshells on the surfaces of my sculptures is an attempt to combine this natural life-protecting material with the mysteriously beautiful inlays that are created on sculpted woods. The use of this material is also a tribute to an artist from China who first showed me how to use egg shells as a sculptural material.
Finally, I always ask myself - Am I making Art, or is Art making me?