‘This is for us:’ Art by John-Herbert Wright
By Marissa Bañez
“Para sa atin ito.” This is for us.
Written at the top of Celebration of Us, a painting by Filipino American multimedia artist and streetwear designer John-Herbert Wright, those words perfectly express the undercurrent running throughout his works on exhibit at the Philippine Center from May 15 to 31.
Wright’s solo exhibition, entitled Coming Home, features paintings that explore and comment upon his cultural and personal identity journeys as a multi-racial man of part Filipino heritage in his unique style that incorporates abstractionism, surrealism, and neo-expressionism partly influenced by Matisse, Dali, and Basquiat. Although the origins of his style may be rooted in techniques that some may find unapproachable and even incomprehensible, the powerfully intimate nature of the subjects of the paintings breaks through, rendering them compelling and accessible.
Wright’s mother is Filipina and his father is bi-racial. Born in Miami in 1983, he and his family moved to New York when he was three. He began painting at age 8 and eventually studied art at the highly competitive Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan. Unfortunately, he struggled with depression and alcohol in his twenties.
During his opening night remarks on May 15, 2024, Wright said he had recently undergone a difficult time which included his father’s recent death and which colored his personal definition of Coming Home. To him, that title has come to mean the strengthening or affirmation of connections with family, relationships, a higher being, and our community, as well as a recognition of “the trials and tribulations we have to go through.”
In Riches of the Soil, he pays homage to his mother by depicting a mother guiding her child with unconditional love. Sweet Baby James recalls the comforting relationship with his father when he was a young boy, which later changed as Wright faced challenges. You Got Me is an expression of his appreciation for his family’s faith in and support of him, as he came out on the other side of his ordeals to return to his art.
I asked Wright whether he had a theme or message that he wanted to convey through his works.
Acknowledging his mortality, he described what he hoped his legacy would be for future generations: “I want to tell human stories. How we feel pain, love, how we overcome, rejoice, and celebrate.” Indeed, his paintings tell stories, not only through arresting pictorial representations but also with thought-provoking words and phrases. That some of the words and phrases are in English and others in Tagalog nicely reflects – intentionally or not – Wright’s multi-raciality, which is yet another layer of his storytelling.
And so it was gratifying that opening night was well-attended and included prominent Filipino officials, such as the Trade Commissioner for the Philippine Consulate General Benedict Uy, Deputy Consul General Adrian Cruz. RB Tamayo was Mistress of Ceremonies, while Jisyl De Los Santos sang and the Kinding Sindaw Dance Theater Company performed an indigenous Filipino dance.
There was also a silent auction of original art pieces that included smaller paintings, clothing, and other objects created by Wright. Coming Home is curated by Vivian Velasco.
Before his current exhibition at the Philippine Center, Wright’s works had been exhibited at several venues, including Mark Miller Gallery, Blue Gallery, Affordable Art Fair, Hamptons Fine Art Fair, and Aqua Art Miami.
Trade Commissioner Uy said in his welcome remarks that the exhibition is aptly named because the Philippine Center is a kind of home for anyone of Filipino heritage. This – the Coming Home art exhibition at the Philippine Center – is for us. Para sa atin ito.
