Arriving at Wonder Land
Last month I announced my upcoming show at Imogen Gallery and have since decided to change the name to Wonder Land. This show has had four titles now because well, I’ve been working on them for four years on and off.
This Picasso quote has always resonated with me…
““Paintings are but research and experiment. I never do a painting as a work of art. All of them are researches. I search constantly, and there is logical sequence in all this research.””
The title of a painting anchors the painting to an extent. A title of a painting reaches out to connect with a viewer and to provoke thought about things that maybe they didn’t know about. I like arriving at a title. I enjoy the research involved in a title because I enjoy writing.
Titles in my paintings serve as a subtle means to incorporate language into the artwork without overpowering the viewer's interpretation.
With each evolution of my current body of work spanning four years, I have accumulated a wide range of words to draw inspiration from. Sometimes, a single word comes to mind, which I then explore further in my concept thesaurus and document additional words in my process journal. These words marinate in my mind as I work. Additionally, I derive ideas from nautical, navigational, and astrological terms, as well as from everyday life in my surroundings.
For me, the exhibition title serves as the initial introduction to the artwork, providing a glimpse into its essence. On the other hand, the titles of the individual pieces offer a poetic invitation for viewers to delve into and experience abstract or conceptual art. I firmly believe that art is a language that transcends words. The titles of my works reflect my personal experiences in the Lower Columbia Basin, where the Columbia River converges with the Pacific Ocean. Titling my work has always been an important ritual in completing a body of work. These titles, in particular, trace a four-year journey of change, relocation, loss, and extensive travels throughout Oregon..
The first title for this body of work was Jezero, after the crater discovered by the NASA Perseverance mission on Mars. I was following this mission at the time and I started this body of work three months into the pandemic. In total isolation, it was an inspiring escape to watch the Mars landing mission and what was discovered from it.
As time went on with this body of work and my research expanded, the second title of the show became Constellation Atlas, and some of the pieces have constellations hidden in them, representing events in life and nature that were going on at the time and significant to our planet. The third title of the show was going to be called Navigating Place, representing finding my way in a new life in a new town discovering all of these places and being closer to nature and the horizon line and the water.
The fourth and final title is Wonder Land, I thought to call it Pacific Wonderland, which is the Oregon slogan on our license plates here. The show would represent the beauty of Oregon as a whole a sort of love letter to Oregon.
The titles of each work individually will represent aspects of all the show titles in one way or another. The span of years, along with the title of the show morphing and changing with me through time and through life will continue manifesting as I complete the last pieces.
Some of the titles represent what I have experienced since living on the North Coast. Others are about the general wonders of this area of the country and my own personal reinvention in a new place.
There is a bit of magic and mystery to it, like everything else with my process!
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I am honored to have two pieces selected for the Resilience online exhibition curated by Sergio Gomez and Drew Harris for 33 Contemporary Gallery (Chicago, Miami). There are a total of 48 pieces from artists around the world in this show. Take a look!
Wax, Textiles & Printmaking Weekend July 12-13
Learn to print by embossing textiles into wax using handmade Wagner Encaustic Collagraph White. Traditionally in printmaking, a “collagraph” is a collaged printing plate. Wagner developed this particular unique approach to printmaking which replaces the collage on the plate with a specially formulated white encaustic wax. This class combines the techniques and approaches of both printmaking and encaustic painting to produce richly textured intaglio prints. Create plates from marks and textures applied with wax. In this class, we use both traditional plexiglas and flat Ampersand Claybord as the printing plate to learn the advantages of printing with each. We use non-toxic soy and honey based Akua Inks on Japanese papers and Evolon microfiber.
Wagner is a member of the Speedball Professional Network
If you followed the mouse misadventure on my Instagram, you’ll be happy to know that Rothko is on the case!
SEND ME A MESSAGE! I would love to hear your thoughts on titling artworks and art shows or anything else this month’s blog may have sparked. THANK YOU!
dry point etching on Kitakata paper
7” x 5”