TITLE: Queen of Hearts and Six Friends

"Queen of Hearts and Six Friends" is a set from the artist's Theater of Twisted Vanities project which explores the human figure veiled in wet silk and suspended between revelation and distortion. Bodies emerge through translucent fabrics that simultaneously clothe, bind, obscure, and transform. Sepia toning and circular vignettes evoke antique viewing devices, inviting the audience into a psychological spectacle where beauty bends toward myth, sanctity, monstrosity, and decay.

The works are created through practical means — water, gravity, fabric, and light — without digital manipulation. Several images function as self-portraits, extending the inquiry into self-image and the fragile architecture of identity.

Rather than presenting the nude as object, the series destabilizes vanity itself. The body becomes an atmospheric vessel onto which the viewer projects archetype, fear, reverence, and desire.

AUTHOR: Kelly William Wright (United States)

Kelly William Wright is an internationally recognized photographic artist and gallerist based in Tampa, Florida. With an exhibited art career spanning over 30 years, his recent return to the medium has been met with widespread critical acclaim, earning over 200 international awards for his latest bodies of work.

Collected internationally over three decades, Wright’s artistic journey has traversed the modern evolutions of the photographic industry. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, his work was represented by prominent galleries across the Eastern United States, including the Florida based Nuance Galleries and the Lawrence Charles Galleries of New York, Miami, and Tampa. This period culminated in his 2009 solo exhibition, 21 Works From Beyond the Hill, a large-scale exploration of subjects ranging from classical nudes to urban abstraction.

Following a nine-year immersion in the world of investment-grade vintage photography as a commercial gallerist, Wright returned to his creative practice in 2018 after encountering his muse; he began work with a renewed intensity. This "second act" has resulted in a flurry of production. In late 2024 Wright began work on "The Atavus Project" which houses 8 portfolios relating to human archetypes moving through and relating to the natural environment. These portfolio studies which include ... The Headwoman, Theater of Twisted Vanities, Portrait of a Seer, and Shades of Paradise showcase a sophisticated synthesis of classical influence and contemporary photographic language.

Wright's current practice reflects a fusion of lived experience, historical influence, and modern vision. His ongoing projects continue to explore themes of human presence, environment, and transformation, contributing to an evolving and deeply personal body of work that continues to push the boundaries of fine art photography.