P R IN T : Arts & Culture
Wednesday,January22,2014
« 3
Artist brings Kentucky inspiration
to campus
Erin Carey
Arts & Cufture Editor
There’s something new in
Niemeyer’s Alexander Gallery,
by the name o f “Solitary
Gestures.” * <
In a series o f works by
sculptor Christopher B. Wagner,
these pieces are living up to
their.title. They aren’t massive
works of granite and marble, but
a different template fig unique
sculptures of reclaimed lumber,
Douglas.fir, milk paint (an envi
ronmentally, friendly „paint often
used for antiques) and the most
interesting of all, pig intestines.
“We had a great turnout to
[Wagner’s] reception, around
150 students and faculty,” said
K ate, Simmons, Clackamas
Community C ollege’s gab
lery director. “Multiple classes
heard Wagner speak, and stu
dents were very responsive.”
“Solitary Gestures” aren’t
pieces that are meant to disturb
those who are looking at them,
but instead, introduce solidity.
Walking through these pieces,
there’s a sense of loneliness —
simple and worn away paint and
long limbs stretching for some
thing. Wagner used the sim
plest materials for pieces that
seem simple themselves, but are
decidedly more interesting.
Wagner youth in rural
Kentucky inspired the materials
he uses. “I grew up on a family
farm, so we had an old bam as.
an out building on the farm that
had since been replaced, but the
old building was falling down,”
Wagner said. “So there were all
these old big dak beams that
I could have access to<and cut
them down.”
He also found inspiration in
Kentucky’s religious practices.
“Most of m y inspiration origi
nated from my upbringing,” he
said, “I grew up on a farm in
Kentucky, I grew up extremely
conservative in a religious back
ground and I didn’t have much
exposure to fine art growing up,
so most o f my influences have
been rural and almost primitive
in nature.”
Furthering his use o f materi
als that others would choose to
throw away, Wagner also has a
huge part in Glean, a project in
Portland aiming to bring local
artists and Metro, the regional
government that helps run gar
bage Collection and recycling
in the area. Wagner emphasizes
that he has a passion for using
materials others wouldn’t take a
second look at, especially wood
and paint. “I kind of fell in love
with working with old materb
als, they had such a history and
character to them. I’ve bought
new wood at times but I ’VC
always been disappointed by
it, just because it didn’t have
the character,” Wagner said.
“Nothing is better than hav
ing an unexpected nail hole or
knot in a piece o f wood that
you weren’t planning for that
you just have to work the piece
around, and the character '.that
the wood is. already bringing to
the piece.” *
“Solitary Gestures” is an
exploration into the mind o f a
man that not only loves what he
does, but creates art that many
can relate to. He uses unique
mediums for his work, and it
shows by how much care he
puts into creating each piece, the
biggest one o f the exhibit taking
around 40 - 50 hours of work.
More o f Wagner’s work can be
found at the Guardino- Gallery
oir Alberta St. in Portland, along
with CCG’s Alexander Gallery
open Jan. 13 to Feb. 6, Monday
- Friday at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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