Photographer Isaac Wright, who has made a name for himself with his bold skyline shots of New York City, was suddenly arrested on May 15 coincidentally, during the opening night of his first solo show, Coming Home, at Robert Mann Gallery in Manhattan. The arrest was conducted by undercover police who had infiltrated the crowd that came to marvel at the very photographs that got Wright into trouble.
Wright, a former US Army paratrooper himself, is best known for his adrenaline-driven photography, capturing the city from atop historic landmarks such as the Empire State Building and the Queensboro Bridge. Equipped with a camera and a hunger for danger, his breathtaking pictures from off-limits heights have been both celebrated and criticized.
His latest encounter with police was a result of a 2024 escapade at the Empire State Building. Wright had ridden the tourist elevator to the 102nd floor and was able to evade security cameras to reach the pier, where he got a dramatic shot of the New York skyline. The crime, as with many of his previous exploits, was trespassing, something that’s been a thorn in the side of authorities for years.
Even with his attempts at legitimacy by using gallery rooms and online sales, Wright has a history of run-ins with the law. In 2020, he led the police on a multi-state car chase after climbing three buildings illegally in Cincinnati. The manhunt was so intense that it even included closing down a whole highway. He wound up spending four months in prison.
Upon his release, Wright shifted to marketing his photos as NFTs, which earned him an estimated $10 million. His photography quickly started gaining the attention of prominent collectors and urban exploration enthusiasts, leading to the Coming Home exhibition, a career highlight which soon turned badly with his arrest.
Onlookers at the gallery were shocked. “I was just totally amazed,” said the owner of the gallery, Robert Mann. “Ansel Adams likely trespassered in his time to get a great picture; many photographers did. But in all my years, I have never seen an artist removed from an opening in cuffs.” Urban climber Vitaliy Raskalov was also stunned: “Sixteen years of climbing, so many exhibitions, I’ve never seen anyone get arrested at an exhibition. It’s nonsense.”
The police justified the timing of the arrest as Wright, who doesn’t live in New York, could only be sure to be in the city that evening. Wright, however, was grateful for the officers’ gesture. “They waited until the night was pretty much over. They gave me that. For the first time, someone tried to understand who I was and show some humanity. That was never provided to me before, and I greatly appreciate it,” he stated after being released the following day.”
Wright’s transition from military existence to controversial art sensation has consistently balanced on the tightrope of thrill-taking and disobedience. As his photographs remain influential, his approach questions where the limit should be placed between art and legality.
