Bio
Christopher B. Wagner is a sculptor originally from Kentucky but has now made his home in Portland, Oregon.
He predominantly uses recycled or reconstituted wood as his medium. His figurative sculptures are allegorical, referencing several mythological traditions while still maintaining a personal dialogue for the artist. His earliest exposure to creating art was carving wooden figures with his grandfather. It wasn’t until much later during graduate school that he came back to this basic skill and rediscovered the joy of finding the figure
within an organic material. Since then he has not only continued carving solid figures but has also experimented with nontraditional uses of hog casings stretched over wooden frames to bring his concepts to life.
Christopher has an M.F.A. in sculpture from Edinboro University and a B.A. in Art from Georgetown College.
He has participated in numerous group shows along with solo exhibitions on both coasts of America and many places in between.
Education
2010 M.F.A. in Sculpture- Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA
2007 B.A. of Art - Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY. Emphasis in Sculpture and Art History, May
Selected Exhibitions
2014
“Solitary Gestures”, Alexander Gallery, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
2013
“Christopher B. Wagner & Paul X. Rutz”, November, Gaurdino Gallery, Portland, OR
“Glean 2013, Artist Residency”, August, Disjecta Gallery, Portland, OR
“Dreamed into Being”, June, Simon Mace Gallery, Port Townsend, WA,
“Remembered Gods”, March, Good Gallery, Portland, OR
Solo Exhibition
2012
“Drifting Dream”, September,Minthorne Gallry, Newberg, OR
“Portlandia”, July, Simon Mace Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
2011
“Tasting Menu”, December, Simon Mace Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
“Portland Open Studios,” October, Studio, Portland, OR
“Christopher B. Wagner: Sculpture in Wood”, August, Gaurdino Gallery, Portland, OR
“The Language of Sculpture”, June, Lakewood Center for the Arts, Juried
“Driftwood Sculpture”, January, Blue Heron Gallery, Vashon, WA, Solo Exhibition
2010
“Small Works”, December, Gaurdino Gallery, Portland, OR, Invitational
“Wrapped”, November, Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA, Juried
“New Works”, June, Glassgrowers Gallery, Erie, PA, Solo Exhibition
“Skinned”, May, Ferraro Gallery, Erie, PA, M.F.A. Thesis Show
2009
“Sculpture Show”, October, Bates Gallery, Edinboro, PA, Juried; Carol Werder
“Alumni Show”, August, Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery, Georgetown, KY Juried
“Images 2009”, June, Robeson Gallery, University Park, PA, Juried; Judith Hansen O’Toole
“86th Annual Spring Show”, April, Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA, Juried; Wendell Castle
“Annual Edinboro Exhibition”, March, Bruce Gallery, Edinboro, PA, Juried; Pattie Baldwin
“In and Out of Our Minds”, March, Bates Gallery, Edinboro, PA
“Art and Drafts”. March, The Brewery at Union Station, Erie, PA, Invitational
2008
“Out of State”, December, 1507 Gallery, Erie, PA
“Shades of a Dream Twice Remembered”, August, Bates Gallery, Edinboro, PA
“Annual Edinboro Student Exhibition”, April, Bruce Gallery, Edinboro, PA, Juried: Kate Lydon, Director
of Exhibitions at Society of Contemporary Craft. Pittsburgh, PA
2007
“Regional Invitational”, August, 1507 Gallery, Erie, PA, Invitational
“University Open”, April, Lex Arts, Lexington, KY, Juried
“Wavering Stability”, April, Ann Wright Wilson Gallery, Georgetown, KY
2006
“Annual Student Competition”, December, Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery, Georgetown, KY, Juried
“Local Artists”, November, Common Grounds Coffee Shop, Lexington, KY, Invitational
“C.E.P.: Creative Experimental Places”, November, Anne Wright Wilson Art Building, Georgetown, KY
“Georgetown College Spotlight”, July, Ann Davis Gallery, Ashland, KY, Invitational
“15 inches”: Class of 2007 Preview”, June, Cochenour Gallery, Georgetown, KY
“Yellow Boxes”, April, Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY, Invitational
“Installation Works”, March, Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery, Georgetown, KY
Publications
2012 Francke, Tyler. Exhibit, The Newberg Graphic, September 5, 2012. Vol. 125, 71
2011 Randall, Janice. Sculpture, Island Arts, January, 2011
2010 Merkle, Karen, Beautiful, Beastly, The Erie Times News Showcase Magazine, May 6, 2010.
2009 Chimera: A Journal of Art and Literature, Vol. 6, Spring 2009
2008 Edwards, John. 'Out of State': Free to Intuit, The Erie Times News Showcase Magazine,January 1, 2009. 17
Honors and Award
2014
RACC Project Grant Recipient, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, OR
Glean Selection Committee, Glean PDX, Portland, OR
Artist Talk, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
2013
Glean Artist Residency, Glean PDX, Portland, OR
2012
Artist Talk, George Fox University, Newberg, OR
Guest Artist Demonstration, Society of Washington Artists, Vancouver, WA
3-D Judge, Battle Ground Art Alliance Spring Show, Battle Ground, WA
2011
Emerging Artist Award, Portland Open Studios
2010
Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Edinboro University
3-D Award, Chimera: A Journal of Art and Literature, Juried; John Vanco, Director of Erie Art Museum
2009
Certificate of Completion, Karakuri Ningyo Workshop, Nagoya, Japan
Best in Show, “Sculpture Show”, Bates Gallery, Edinboro University
Award of Merit, “Images 2009”, Robeson Gallery, The Pennsylvania State University
Juror’s Choice Best in Show, “Annual Edinboro Student Exhibition” Bruce Gallery, Edinboro University
2008
Juror’s Choice Best in Show, “Annual Edinboro Student Exhibition” Bruce Gallery, Edinboro University
2007
Best in Show, “Annual Student Competition” Anne Wright Wilson Gallery, Georgetown College
2005- 07 Outstanding Sculptor Award, Georgetown College
2005 Faculty Outstanding Student Award, “Annual Student Competition”, Anne Wright Wilson Gallery, Georgetown
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