Men Do Not Stand and Sleep, Only Elephants Can Do That!
Mindy Solomon is pleased to present Men Do Not Stand and Sleep, Only Elephants Can Do That!, a solo presentation of works by Atlanta based artist Jamele Wright, Sr.
Born and raised in Ohio, Wright moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of twenty-two. While raising a family, he produced art, jazz, and poetry events throughout the city and founded Neo Renaissance Art House, a gallery dedicated to supporting emerging artists. His curatorial work ultimately led him to pursue his own artistic career, earning a B.A. in Art History from Georgia State University with a concentration in African and African American Contemporary Art, followed by an M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York.
“I am a multidisciplinary artist concerned with the Black American vernacular experience. My early work used Dutch Wax cloth, Georgia red clay, found objects, and wood from abandoned houses to hold stories of family, tradition, and the spiritual and material ties between Africa and the South. These works acted as power items or cosmograms, inviting the viewer into the in-between, where memory and imagination overlap.
My practice has since expanded. I hand-dye fabrics, experiment with batik, and layer gestures to shift the surface of the picture plane. Through fractured patterns, overlapping marks, and atmospheric color, the works move between painting and object, between the natural and the synthetic.
I see this practice as part of a larger conversation in abstraction. The work carries memory, challenges perception, and opens new codes. Sometimes it meditates quietly, sometimes it transports, and at times it lifts off.”
Elephants are among the few animals that are able to rest while standing, they embody endurance, awareness, and the ability to hold memory. For Wright, this magnificent beast becomes a symbol of the refusal to rest within struggle, a call to remain spiritually awake, and a testament to generational survival and grace.
About Jamele Wright, Sr.
Born and raised in Ohio, at the age of 22 Jamele Wright, Sr. moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia. While raising a family, Jamele produced art, jazz, and poetry events throughout Atlanta. Realizing that there were many young artists not being represented he started a gallery called Neo Renaissance Art House. After curating the gallery for over a year, Jamele was inspired to pursue his own artistic career. After a number of solo and group exhibitions, he graduated from Georgia State University with a B.A. in Art History.
He concentrated on African and African American Contemporary Art. Jamele graduated with Master of Fine Art from School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, New York. He completed a residency at MASS MoCA, and Vermont Studio Center as well as artist in resident at Gibbes Museum, Charleston, SC. He currently maintains his practice in Atlanta, Georgia.
