Artist Kristopher Wright jokes that he and his wife went into hiding in 2019 when they moved onto an 80-acre ranch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. He hoped the move would allow him to focus on his art and, just as importantly, recover from a bicycle accident that broke his neck.
His relocation from Denver was successful on both counts. Wright has healed and created dozens of large-scale pieces that blend painting, printmaking, photography and even mechanical diagrams.
The artist’s star is also rising. In 2023, he had his first solo exhibition at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and last year, the Denver Art Museum added Wright’s painting, “Cold Was the Ground,” to its permanent collection.
Wright’s current show at K Contemporary Gallery in Denver celebrates people at work and at play, whether it’s children playing pick-up basketball, the dedication of a church, or a young bull rider in action.
“I think a lot of my work is about the idea of congregation and togetherness,” the artist said standing amongst a dozen examples of his work at the gallery– most of which had sold before the show even opened.
“It's about people within space and activating that space.”
Wright’s pieces are awash in color and make the viewer feel they are a part of the scene. The art evokes a bit of Roy Lichtenstein’s comic-strip style and Norman Rockwell’s Americana wholesomeness, but with more diverse subjects.
“I think a lot of artists are striving for greatness, not personal greatness, but they're striving to make art that truly connects and truly resonates with people.”
Children are a consistent presence in his pieces – often trying adulthood on for size, which he said comes from childhood memories in Colorado Springs.
“My life was filled with things like backyard squabbles, learning how to shoot, learning about responsibility and … duty and hard work and wondering ‘What will I be one day?’” Wright said.
The artist often uses family photos as anchors for his pieces, like one entitled “Light My Way,” which depicts men gathered to celebrate the opening of a church. Wright used an old photograph of his grandfather, who was a reverend and a builder, as the basis for the work.
“He built churches in his community and homes,” Wright said. “I wanted this to explore that idea of dedication, of making a place special, and I wanted to bring these characters outside of the church and into the landscape.”
Superimposed on the church piece and others in the exhibition are mechanical drawings – namely engine diagrams used for repairs. Wright said the drawings are metaphors for how families and communities can be subject to breakdowns and false starts, but can also be repaired.
Like his grandfather, Kristopher Wright seems to have a knack for construction. After picking out a site on his San Luis Valley ranch, he, along with his father and one of his brothers, built his artist studio.
In addition to making art, Wright, along with his wife, raises chickens and goats. He said his move south has only deepened his reverence for place, animals, and scenery.
Many of his paintings include mountain peaks bathed in purples and pinks, perhaps reminiscent of the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains, which surround him constantly.
Wright’s exhibition at K Contemporary in Denver runs through February 8.
