"Gloria in excelsis David"
Kerry Wright, 1996
Oils on Canvas
120cm x 90cm (4ft x 3ft)
This large abstract was commissioned by my
friends, David and Craig. They had moved to a smart city apartment here in Sydney and were keen to establish their own contemporary art
collection. I had previously painted David’s portrait and they were looking to
acquire a bright, exuberant abstract, which portrayed aspects of their
individual personalities and also their life together as a couple. That was
my brief. I have been interested in calligraphy from an early age. During the
1980s-1990s, I ran my own calligraphy business as a sideline. I counted several
academic institutions and hospitals amongst my clientele, primarily engraving
graduands' names onto academic certificates and diplomas. The advent of the
computer with its many and varied font types put an end to that. I approached David
and Craig’s commission by way of my background in calligraphy. The bold,
swirling black lines, which dominate the composition, spell out their intertwined names,
albeit cryptically. As for the title, “Gloria in excelsis David”, it is a play
on the words of the Gloria, from the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Catholic
Church. A tribute to David’s Irish ancestry, as well as to his cheeky, impious sense
of humour.