Mary Wright’s ethereal art has always been inspired by nature. Mary is guided by the interrelation between the four elements – air, earth, fire, water – and the regenerative qualities of nature. Feathers, shells, trees and rock formations hide deeper abstract universes that stimulate her work. Of her work, architect Arthur Dyson says, “Her watercolors are a stream of experience that emphasize sensitivity to the kind of hidden structures that rest beneath the distracting glare of ordinary appearance…she has found a method to bring calm to the surface so that we may look for the riverbed.” Mary agrees with her husband Eric’s grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright who said “I believe in God only I spell it N-A-T-U-R-E”.
Mary has an annual exhibit of her work at the Wright Land, the beautiful Wright family ranch perched high on a mountain above Malibu. Mary’s art work is available for purchase and some of her work is posted on her website: www.marywrightwatercolors.com. Gallery showings and workshops are also listed on her website.
Mary Wright was born and raised in Southern California where she received her teaching degree from UCLA. Following the Korean War, she petitioned the U.S. Air Force to teach art to the children of American personnel in Japan. While in Japan, she was also disciplined in Sumie painting under master Reiko Saito. In 1960 Mary returned to the U.S. to teach in the Los Angeles Unified School District where she taught art in middle school for 30 years. Along the way she met and married architect Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom she has two sons.
In addition to teaching art and painting from their mountaintop home in Malibu, Mary and Eric have hosted many philanthropic, environmental and social fundraising events over the years. She is a long time environmental activist, including five years on the board of the Ballona Wetlands Land Trust.
