04 august 2021, Flor Linckens
Henri Wagner: “I want to tilt the image, liberate it from its reality.”
Until August 28, you can see work by Henri Wagner in Galerie Helder in The Hague, in the exhibition “Airy Spaces”. The French artist was born in 1981 in Bois-Guillaume in Normandy, but he currently lives and works in Paris. The city is an important source of inspiration for his work, but not Amélie's Paris - with a carefully shattered crème brûlée - but rather the derelict industrial sites, abandoned buildings and raw graffiti.
Wagner originally started his career in the more figurative tradition, but he soon found his way into pure abstraction. Nowadays, he often makes intuitive works on glass, abstract images that radiate a certain calm. The works offer a small oasis of peace in the great multitude of images that are fired at us every day. Wagner uses a variety of materials for this, including spray paint, coating, adhesive plastic, gesso, ink and glue. He doesn’t shy away from removing elements once they’re applied, as soon as he gets the feeling that the result becomes too constructed. Then again, he isn’t hiding any mistakes. Sometimes he’ll presents the spotless side of the glass to the viewer, sometimes he’ll paints both sides of the material.
Henri Wagner, Untitled (1641), 2020, Galerie Helder.
Henri Wagner: “My artistic approach consists of experimenting with painting on glass. I deliberately use the term 'experiments' for these works, because the variety of techniques and methods used prompts me to constantly review my production process. Lately I've been painting on both sides of the glass, playing with the juxtaposition of materials, leaving transparency an important part in the composition. This offers new perspectives. It provides an answer by revealing behind the scenes and the stages of construction on which I am sometimes questioned. A double reading then becomes possible, depending on whether one is placed on one side or the other of the glass panel.”
The exhibition “Airy Spaces” can be seen in Galerie Helder until 28 August.
Note: many galleries have different opening hours during the summer. Consider contacting the gallery prior to your visit.
