The Wright Contemporary

The Wright

Contemporary is the long-held dream of its gallery director Ann Landi, who has made a name for herself over decades as a patron of the arts.

“I’m not an art dealer; I’ ve just wanted to curate a serious gallery, one that will showcase more of our local artists and will be a venue for public programming,” she mused.

Thanks to her benefactor, Santa Fe artist Ira Wright, the gallery of her dreams opened to great fanfare in June 2022. It was hailed not just as a sophisticated yet welcoming gallery but also as a setting for lectures, visiting panel discussions and film presentations, thanks to its state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and the spacious surroundings. Its inaugural year saw exhibitions featuring the best of Northern New Mexico’s artists; discussions about art-making and the

80 business of art; and awardwinning documentaries.

“

Ira [Wright] is truly responsible for the gallery being in existence and, for that, I am so grateful,” she said. “In addition to his generosity, he is an accomplished artist — largely self-taught, although he studied design at the University of Michigan and at Cranbrook Academy of Art. At Litton Industries in the 1950s, he designed the cases for early computers and had the distinction of naming a color ‘Tahitian Sunrise.’ Throughout his long life, he has held various gigs, including art director and graphic designer, foundry worker, and teacher of studio art and art history at local colleges.” A true Renaissance man, in Landi’s opinion.

This year will see the gallery continue its schedule of new exhibits about every six weeks, and Landi noted they will occasionally be reaching beyond the region to bring exciting leadingedge artists to Taos. “We are planning a show with Paris-based Isabelle Plat, a French sculptor with a decidedly funky atheistic, show spanning his fortyyear career in an art form that has long-been representative of ancient Southwestern earthen crafts. His work is an original meeting ground of art and technology,” taking clay and minerals into the new century. 82