“In the cop car, they even told me they liked the art.” Photographer arrested on trespassing charges at New York gallery opening

The Empire State Building is lit up in blue among the New York City skyline.

Photographer Isaac “Drift” Wright’s work is a dizzying array of urban environments from rarely seen heights, but last week, the photographer’s extreme climbs led to his arrest at the opening of a gallery show in New York.

Wright, who goes by Drift and @drifershoots on Instagram, was reportedly escorted from his first solo gallery show on May 15 by New York police and charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing over a 2024 climb up to the Empire State Building’s spire. The photo taken during that climb hung on the walls at the Robert Mann Gallery, the first time that the image had been displayed publicly.