Oliver Wagner

Oliver Wagner (b. 1969, Zurich, Switzerland) is a Swiss Australian artist who lives and works on Gadigal land/Sydney, Australia. He experiments with labour, speculation and volatility to explore notions of chance, skill and care. Drawing from the history of painting, he employs house paint rendered into dust as his primary medium for both permanent and ephemeral works. This involves two approaches, one being cascades of house paint dust, referred as “Reconstructed Paintings” and gestural compositions, referred as “Removed Paintings.” Wagner’s examination of chance and divergence between original intent and actual outcome has become one of the focuses of his ongoing inquiry. His recent works are a continuation of his vigorous manipulation of paint dust and part of a larger body of work that focuses on the tonal varieties and perceptions of black in combination with colour. Vast uninterrupted cascades visualise this aim, creating unforeseen proportions, harmonies and breaks. Engaging with chance as one of the methodological tools the pictures were completed in a faction of a moment, and once the dust settled, nothing could be added or removed.