Victoria Wagner
"Intimately entangled with both landscape and fabricated industrial materials, my sculptural paintings evoke visible and unseen realms. I grew up on the eastern slope of the Sierras, where tribal land and wild horses converge with dramatic vistas, sprawling ranches and 24-hour casino culture. Abject poverty exists alongside extreme, yet modest wealth. The air is thin, temperatures can be extreme, people work hard, play harder and the enormity of the sky and mountains feel like a religious experience. It is a place simultaneously chaotic and tranquil, rugged and contained. Coming of age in this landscape, amidst the cultural conditions, people and wildlife, I learned about the relationships between land and its inhabitants. I became aware of industry’s great ironies — how its employment is necessary to people’s sustenance while its operations affect the health of the land. Having become sensitive to contrasting extremes, my work contains the tension of coexisting visual and theoretical paradoxes. In my painted wood and metal artworks, I use unlikely material pairings and unusual color combinations to gently aggravate the viewer’s existing assumptions about spatial relationships. Working with disparate and seemingly unrelated elements, I am able to re-orchestrate and organize them into harmonic relationships that reveal unexpected beauty. As tangible evidence of physical experience, reflective surfaces, spectral phenomenon and materiality, I hope that my work can behave like a desert mirage — that it can be at once a trick of the eye and also a mystical, transcendent moment. My material choice is inspired by the sentient and energetic exchange between objects and living creatures; I’m drawn to that which is familiar but overlooked. Aluminum, for instance, is a steady and ubiquitous material in everyday life; it is often found in domestic settings and is the most abundant mineral in the planet’s core. Wood, on the other hand, is shy and much less boisterous. Through the prolonged intimacy of debarking, shaping and sanding, I slowly but continuously discover wood’s inner workings, its secrets and history. Most of my wood has been intentionally sourced from nearby forests in Northern California. I find that working with local wood provides a connection to land and becomes a practice of stewardship. Beyond the visible realm is a plane of vibration, energy, and mystery. This plane is where empirical knowledge becomes interwoven with belief, where our eyes can play tricks on us, where logic is overwritten by feeling and where my imagery originates. Through engagement and observation of nature’s patterns, I witness coincidence, reveal symbols, notice colors, explore relationships and feel a deep resonance with the spirit of the land. Overlaying geometric constellations onto organic topographies, my abstract compositions are as narrative as tree rings or cell structure or the materiality of aluminum. With paint, I create prismatic spectrums that ripple, accelerate, reverberate and flow. Invoking transcendentalists, I use color as an intuitive tool to increase balance within the body. In these ways my colorful multi-media assemblages seek to connect people and objects — through what is seen and sensed — to the mystical nature of our world."
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Spiritual UFO, 2022
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And Then Summer Came with Such a Relentless Beauty That It Made Us Feel Bashful
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Blush on Blush on Blush
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Vibing So Hard On You That It Feels Like We Created A New Planet
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Where the Warm Winds Blow
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Embracing Light From All of the New Suns
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If I Relax, the Pieces Will Not Blow Away
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The Kiss
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Through the Looking Glass
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Unwelcome Changes that Allowed the Full Spectrum of Golden Light to Warm Us, 2022
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We Are Forming New Communities
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Gentle Moonbeam Illuminating Low Places, 2022
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Circle of Life
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Luminosity
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Four More Days, Said the Mountain
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Red Mantle Red Planet Red Button
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Victoria Wagner | Broken Hallelujah
1 Oct - 18 Nov 2022Victoria Wagner’s paintings and sculptures masterfully blend shape, line and color. Working on two levels, her paintings offer both high impact optics at first glance, while simultaneously drawing the viewer...Read more -
Victoria Wagner | Everglow
1 Sep - 15 Oct 2020Victoria Wagner's abstract compositions inhabit perpetual space, vibrational color relationships and craft. Of this, she blames her formative years spent in the high Nevada desert in a reservation town where light was sharp and dramatic, the mountains governed the atmosphere and the sky commanded more peripheral vision than one is capable of perceiving. Conceptually, her research combines historical and contemporary pursuits of knowledge that run the gamut from interplanetary exploration to spiritual transcendence and has found great inspiration in the writings of cosmonauts, indigenous memoirists, industrial designers, mystics, arborists, social anthropologists and archaeologists.Read more
Everglow is a selection of the artist’s mixed media wood sculptures and paintings made with repurposed and sometimes scorched redwood from the recent Northern California wildfires. Wagner’s work melds saturated jewel-toned color spectrums, geometric constellations and pieces of salvaged redwood to create gem-like meditations on climate change, the California wildfires that continue to rage for the fourth year in a row and the resiliency of the communities that come together to help each other in the face of disaster.
Conceptually, Victoria Wagner’s work explores the environment, climate collapse, and the role of beauty in art and human perception. Formally, the work offers a visual spectacle through the use of tonal vibration, materiality, rhythm, form and color. Sourcing damaged redwood trees from a local arborist in West Sonoma County where she lives amidst a redwood forest, Wagner carves raw chunks of tree into faceted gemstone shaped orbs. The contours of her shapes are often determined by the damage to the tree itself; she slowly shaves the charred weak spots in an intuitive process that she says highlights the “sentience of the redwood tree.” The newly formed planes are then enhanced with the artist’s signature color fields of vibrant oil paint from natural pigments and then sealed with shellac. For Wagner the subject matter becomes the medium and it carries a complicated message: caution and warning, beauty and resilience.
Education
2001 MFA, Mills College, Oakland, CA
1993 BA, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Public Collections
Capital One Digital Innovation Labs, San Francisco, CA
Ashiya Baycourt Club, Tokyo, Japan
Shri Ninai Enterprises, Raigad, India
M.I Star Mineral Water, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Reenie Bird Vintage (outdoor mural), Sebastopol, CA
Wash Plus, (hand-painted pictogram signage and indoor mural), Sebastopol, CA
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Solo Show, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2021 (untitled), College of Marin Fine Arts Gallery, Kentfield, CA (upcoming)
2020 Everglow, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2019 baby, let’s get out of here and build a love nest in space, Miracle Plum, Santa Rosa, CA
on a clear day, we can be forever, Hammerfriar Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
2018 our vision will be better on the moon, Local Language, Oakland, CA
2017 Victoria Wagner, Gallery Lulo, Healdsburg, CA
2016 Believer, Neon Raspberry Art House, Occidental, CA
2015 Logic of the Ordinary, Kitty Hawk Gallery, Sebastopol, CA
2014 Interference at the Edge of the By and By, Louie Meager Museum, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
wonder the passing through, Dose Projects, Brooklyn, NY
eclipsed days and compressed dimension, Studio Blomster, Guerneville, CA
2013 victoria wagner, Stark Tasting Room, Healdsburg, CA
2012 our mother the mountain, Marion and Rose’s Workshop, Oakland, CA
2010 extramundane: the journey of the shades, Hyde Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 when the past has passed it will be silver, Four Barrel, San Francisco, CA formations, Blankspace Gallery, Oakland, CA (with Erik Parra)
2008 the remains, Don Soker Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
2004 topographies of torque and tangent, Quicksilver Mine, Forestville, CA
2000 untitled, Andrea Schwartz, San Francisco, CA
Awards, Public Engagements, Residencies
2020 Recipient, Quick Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation
2018 Artist-in-Residence, Local Language, Oakland, CA
2017 Artist-in-Residence, Kala Art Institute Berkeley, CA
2016 Artists in Conversation with Heather Marx, Berkeley Art Center, CA
Guest lecturer for Nancy Selvin, Color and Perception, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA
2014 Visiting Artist Lecturer, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA
2013 Recipient, Creative Capacity Fund Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation
2013 Artist-in-Residence, Chalk Hill, Healdsburg, CA
2008 Painting Lecturer, Mills College, Oakland, CA
2005 Nominee, Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation
2001 Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Ron Nagle, Mills College, Oakland, CA
2000 Visiting Artist Lecturer, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA Mini Research Grant, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Group Exhibitions
2020 Art Miami Online, Maybaum Gallery
2020 Relics from the Future, NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA (upcoming)
Astro Hotel, selected artist room takeover, Santa Rosa, CA (upcoming)
2019 Altered States, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
In Flux, Angela Meleca, Columbus, OH
Midsummer Edit: A Group Show, Sarah Shepard Gallery, Larkspur, CA
Roving Venue presents…,The Mill, Healdsburg, CA
2018 Artists’ Annual, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
Artsy Introductions, Alfa Gallery, Miami, FL
Group Show, Art Works, Cedar City, UT
428collective, Hammerfriar Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
2017 Shelves II, Orie Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Spectral Hues, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
The Exquisite Corpse of the Unknown Veteran, Not Alone, San Francisco
Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA
forgotten words, Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery, Santa Rosa Junior College, CA
2016 I Look for Clues in Your Dreams, Berkeley Art Center, CA
2015 Rock Silica Soapbox, College Avenue Galleries, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA
A Special Curatorial Project with Rirkrit Tiravanija: The Way Things Go, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2014 Mercado Sagrado by The Radder, Private Residence, Topanga, CA
West Coast Craft, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
2013 Transmissions, Marin Community Foundation, Novato, CA
Falling Dark, Perdita Productions, Geyserville, CA (catalog)
Monster Drawing Rally, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
Tear it Out, Issues Magazine Shop, Oakland, CA
2011 Introductions, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2012 Product 2, Studio 428, Healdsburg, CA
2010 Music from Mountaintops, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA (curated by Michelle Blade)
2009 Passive/Aggressive, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
Public Art/Urban Intervention Day, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
Past Forward: 25th Anniversary Exhibition, The LAB, San Francisco, CA
Mixed Metaphors and Obsessive Compulsive Behavior, Michael Rosenthal Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008 Close Calls, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
2007 3x3, Di Rosa Art and Nature Preserve, Napa, CA (curated by Ariege Arsuegel and Natasha Boas) Summer Group Show, Don Soker Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
2006 From Nature, Jay/Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL
Spring/Summer Group Show, Don Soker Contemporary, San Francisco microcosm, Richmond Art Center, CA (catalog)
2005 Winter Group Show, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
In the Garden, Julie Baker Fine Art, Grass Valley, CA microcosm, Brewery Project Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (catalog)
2004 Botany 12, Sonoma County Museum, Santa Rosa, CA (curated by Natasha Boas)
Bibliography
2018 “Making Waves: 100 Artists Putting the East Bay on the Map,” San Francisco Magazine, Edited by Ian A. Stewart | May 31 “Studio Visit//Victoria Wagner”, The Studio Work, Elise Morris, Oct. 11
2017 “Good Vibrations: Victoria Wagner,” American Craft, Feb/March, Written by Deborah Bishop
2016 “Gemstone Woodrocks,” Llamas Valley, By Kamile Niunevaite | February 16
“Intelligence: Wood to Jewels,” Curve Magazine, Lebanon, April/May
“Wood Blocks Carved and Painted Into Glimmering Gemlike Objects”, This is Colossal by Christopher Jacobson, January 11
“Victoria Wagner/Woodrocks”, Dwell, by Design Crush
“Woodrocks-Victoria Wagner”, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, repost: This is Colossal January 17
“I Look for Clues in Your Dreams” (exhibition catalog), published by Ann Trinca and Berkeley Art Center, July 28 “Victoria Wagner on the Symbiosis of Art and Baking and Meeting Neighbors through Food”, Satori Travel, January 2
2014 “Woodrocks. I Victoria Wagner”, Quiet Lunch, November 16
2013 “Chalk Hill Residency/Victoria Wagner”, Elliptical Goodkind, by Michelle Blade, May 27
2008 “Geologic Remains”, ArtSlant by Natalie Hegert, May 3
2009 “Past Forward at the Lab”, by Sevilla Granger, July 31
2004 New American Paintings, Pacific Coast, issue 43
Viewing Programs and Consultancies
Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
The Drawing Center Viewing Program, New York, NY
Bay Van Artist Registry, Oakland, CA
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Art Miami 2022
29 Nov - 4 Dec 2022Booth AM529 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 PLATINUM VIP PREVIEW: 4.30PM - 6:30PM VIP PREVIEW: 6:30PM - 10PM GENERAL ADMISSION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 11AM - 7PM THURSDAY,...Read more -
Seattle Art Fair 2022
21 - 24 Jul 2022Select VIP Preview Thursday, July 21, 2022 — 5:00pm to 6:00pm Opening Evening Thursday, July 21, 2022 — 6:00pm to 9:00pm Public Hours Friday, July...Read more -
Art Market, San Francisco: Booth D15
21 - 24 Apr 2022VIP & Press Preview Thursday, April 21, 2022 | 6:00 - 10:00PM General Admission: Friday, April 22, 2022 | 11:00 - 7:00 PM Saturday, April...Read more -
Art Miami Online 2021
30 Nov - 5 Dec 2021Maybaum Gallery is pleased to announce our participation in this year's Art Miami Online Edition. We are sorry to miss you in person this year...Read more -
Art Miami 2020
1 - 20 Dec 2020VIP Preview: December 1 Open to the Public: December 2-20 Please email us at info@maybaumgallery.com for a link to our online booth.Read more
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Broken Hallelujah in Marin Magazine
October 19, 2022 -
Victoria Wagner Completes an Amazing Site Specific Installation through Google Residency
Wagner's Installation on Scrubs elevator shaft at Google BayView, Mountain View September 1, 2022 -
Canopy | Ilhwa Kim, Karl Klingbiel, and Victoria Wagner
January 18, 2022 -
SF/Arts | Victoria Wagner
Visual Treats Galore Among Bay Area Galleries October 9, 2020For full article, click here: https://www.sfarts.org/story/gallery-highlights-4SIiM0CRchyc3Gm0KnUArvRead more
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48 Hills | With ‘Everglow,’ an artist explores redwood’s phosphorescence
October 6, 2020For full article, click here: https://48hills.org/2020/10/with-everglow-an-artist-explores-redwoods-phosphorescence/Read more -
Marina Times | Return of the Arts
October 3, 2020FOR FULL ARCTICLE, CLICK HERE: https://www.marinatimes.com/2020/10/return-of-the-arts/Read more -
SF WEEKLY | Victoria Wagner | In Flames
September 28, 2020FOR FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE: https://www.sfweekly.com/culture/rediscover-visual-arts-at-these-reopened-galleries/Read more -
The Power Player Magazine | Victoria Wagner, The Artist, Her Collection Everglow
September 25, 2020To view full article, click here: https://thepowerplayermag.com/victoria-wagner-the-artist-her-collection-everglow/Read more