My MUSE: Natasha Wright

Hi everyone, Michele here to introduce this week’s My MUSE: the elegant, inspiring and quietly commanding Natasha Wright.

There’s a calm confidence Natasha brings into a room, the kind that draws you in without ever demanding attention. In her New York studio she works with focus and intuition, letting paint and colour guide her, and the same considered ease shows in her personal style, where strength and subtle playfulness coexist effortlessly.

A Kiwi who has called New York home since completing her MFA at The New York Studio School, Natasha creates large-scale paintings that explore the female form with immediacy and power. Her work blends figuration and abstraction, weaving together historical references, contemporary influences, and the textures of everyday life. 

I sat down with her to talk about the intersection of fashion and art, life in New York, the rituals that spark creativity, and the rules she writes for herself both on canvas and off.

 

Your work often explores and reimagines the depiction of women throughout history. What first drew you to this subject?

I’m really drawn to painting the female form because, historically, women in art have often been shown as passive, decorative, or symbolic—usually through a male lens. I like flipping that script. The women I paint are complex, full of agency, and unapologetically present. I take inspiration from familiar archetypes in classical paintings or myths, but I reimagine them. My subjects can be vulnerable but they’re also powerful. They’re aware of the history and the male gaze they inherit, but they claim their own space and explore who they are on their own terms

 

What does a typical day look like for you as a full-time artist in New York? 

While no two days are the same, consistency and routine are important to me. I’m in the studio at least five days a week, usually more when I’m working on an exhibition. I remember reading an interview with Susan Rothenberg where she talks about the importance of physically being in the studio almost every day, otherwise denying the possibility of anything really happening.

I try and draw every day. Drawing is a pivotal part of my practice and where most of my ideas start. The drawings are all about the movement of the hand while in the paintings I use my body to create the same type of energy. When I get to my studio, I often start by mixing paint – it helps me to think about color relationships. I buy a lot of pigments and like to make my own oil paint. One of my favorite shops in New York is Kremer, it stocks all sorts of very specific colors you can’t buy by the tube. 

 

 

Do you have any rituals or little habits that help you get into a creative mindset each day?

My rituals are a masterclass in procrastination - coffee and rearranging things in my studio until I finally start painting.

 

You’ve lived in New York for over a decade now, what do you love most about the city, and has your perspective on it changed over time? 

I love New York because you have access to some of the most amazing galleries and museums in the world and that keeps your brain constantly on fire. Because I don’t have family here building a strong community of friends has become really import to me. 

 

 

Do fashion and art influence each other in your life? Are there designers, eras, or aesthetics that particularly inspire you? 

Yes, the way I dress represents a lot of the ideas you see in my paintings. I like my outfits to feel strong but feminine. I love playing with juxtaposition, pairing a piece that feels delicate and soft with something more utilitarian and bold. It’s about finding the balance, I never want an outfit to feel too much of one thing. I’m drawn to things that feel a bit beaten up and have a history, statement pieces that feel powerful. My favorite fashion designers are very inspired by art - Maison Margiela, Schiaparelli and Simone Rocha.

 

Has living in New York influenced your sense of style, or do you find yourself holding onto elements of New Zealand fashion sensibility?

I think my style has been pretty consistent in both places. I have a dark sensibility and wear a lot of black – I probably dress more casually in New York because I walk and take the subway everywhere!

 

 

What is currently on your MUSE wishlist?

I love Khaite denim, the new Harris Tapper resort and Magda Butrym!

 

 

And finally, finish this sentence: A woman is most powerful when she...

is writing her own rules.