Ian Wright was a British illustrator.
Education and career
Born in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1953, Wright studied at
Goldsmiths College in London (1974–1975) and received a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the
London College of Printing
The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...
in 1978. Following his degree studies, he became assistant to
George Hardie (1978–1979) and then shared a studio with designer
Neville Brody
Neville Brody, (born 23 April 1957) is an English graphic designer, typographer and art director. He is known for his work on ''The Face'' magazine (1981–1986), ''Arena'' magazine (1987–1990), and designing record covers for artists such a ...
at ''
The Face
The face is a part of the body, the front of the head.
Face may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face''
* ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film
* ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...
'' magazine (1979–1981 and 1990–1996). In 1981, he set up his own studio.
Wright's work as a commercial illustrator has spanned four decades, starting with his illustrative cover of
The Undertones
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley ...
’
Teenage Kicks
"Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Be ...
7” single in the late 1970s, progressing with his illustrative artwork for ''The Face'' in their 1980s heyday and his weekly black and white portraits for the ''
New Musical Express
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. His subsequent work has included projects for such famous, and diverse, names as
Issey Miyake
was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product.
Life and career
Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...
,
Givenchy
Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...
,
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
,
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
,
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the split in 1996, he began a solo career, re ...
,
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
,
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
, and
T.I.
Wright has experimented with a variety of techniques. An early portrait of
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...
was made entirely with salt to replicate cocaine as a reference to the seminal rap track "White Lines".
[Paul Brad]
"Ripped & Torn: The Art Of Ian Wright @ the LDF"
''Ancient to Future'', 23 September 2011, retrieved 9 September 2020. He adopted photocopiers at an early stage, changing single color toners within the machine to mimic the
screen print
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mes ...
process by building layers of color from separate artworks into one final image. In his portraits and illustrative artwork for record sleeves and the music press, he combines analogue and digital techniques.
Wright’s illustrative artwork has been exhibited internationally, including in London at the
Design Museum
The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...
(2007), the Exposure Gallery (2007), the Cosh Gallery (2007), Rosemary Gardens (2005), and Pentagram Gallery (2005); in New York at the Reed Space (2006), Times Square (2006), Mass Production at The Christopher Henry Gallery (NYC) (2006), and Issey Miyake (2002); in Hong Kong at Agnes B Libarie Gallery (2007) and the Hong Kong Center Wanchai (2005); and in the Czech Republic at the 22nd International Biennale of Graphic Design (2006).
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Ian
1953 births
Living people
Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
English illustrators