ARTIST STATEMENT
In my work, I challenge boundaries. Where is the line between plant and animal, beauty and ugliness, chaos and order? I am intrigued by how we, as humans, try to make sense of oppositional ideas, and I use imagery from the natural world to investigate.
I am captivated by organisms that resist categorization. Carnivorous plants, motile algae, living fossils, and photosynthetic animals are a few of the label-defying creatures that fit this description. Other examples come from entities that have similar morphology but live in different biomes. Parallel forms can also span the boundaries of scale and appear in the microscopic, macroscopic and beyond.
These sources, together with a general study of nature, inspire the flora and fauna that inhabit my work. By combining elements from diverse natural organisms, I create hybrid creatures that bridge multiple domains. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes monstrous, these creatures allow me to further question dualistic assumptions through the manipulation of attraction and repulsion. Unsettling forms and looming sinister figures commingle with pleasing patterns. Worms, tentacles, and other disconcerting imagery appear in vibrant colors and attractive compositions. The conventional binary of beauty vs. ugliness is thus perturbed.
In addition, I use contrasting styles to subvert an absolutist approach to classifying. Chaotic areas are juxtaposed against pattern and order. Drips, water marks, and other chance-driven effects underlie controlled line drawings. Light-hearted comic book shapes balance with “scientific” symbols. Flatness/space, realism/abstraction, and symbols/volumes are other combinations I frequently use. No single style or point-of-view dominates.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Gail Wagner has explored a variety of media over the years while maintaining a consistent interest in the natural world. She began her studies in painting, then ventured into sculpture and installation. After experimenting with many different materials and approaches, she developed her own style of large-scale fiber sculptures. These abstract, colorful, soft sculptures have been exhibited in numerous venues, including solo shows at the Arvada Center for the Arts and the Longmont Museum in Colorado.
She has now returned to painting with a combination of abstraction and realism. She is still taking inspiration from nature.
Gail Wagner has a Bachelor and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology.
© Gail Wagner