Antoine Amadeus Wagner-Pasquier (/ˈvɑːɡnər/VAHG-nər, French:[ɑ̃twanvaɡnɛʁ]; 1982) is an American-French visual artist.[1] He works between Woodstock, NY and Paris, France.[2] Through a visual language drawn from nature his work refers to mythological narratives and the sublime.
Wagner's medium include video, sound, sculpture, performance and photography, which he exhibits through installations, site-specific projects, film, monumental photography and opera. Through the visual language of nature, his work references music, mythology and the romantic.[4]
Wagner's multifaceted practice has created an entire visual language to engage the audience in communicating with nature. Abstract unseen anthropomorphic shapes found in nature and minerals are the main actors of this world of mythologies and cyclical redundancies. Through different medium and projects, the artist examines the themes of identity, geography and spirituality and offers to the viewer an escape from traditional geographic and artistic boundaries.[5]
Through his exhibitions including Exil (Museum am Rothenbaum, 2013), Kundry (La Filature de Mulhouse 2015), Wagner applied his experience in the moving image to photography, exploring the possibilities of narrative in a silent and motionless environment through large-scale abstract photography.
Wagner's site-specific multimedia installation Sentimental Analysis (April 2019) is a response to the legend of Ara the Beautiful at The National Gallery of Armenia.
Early work
In 2006, Wagner assisted director Michael Haneke on Funny Games.
After his first site specific installation Lisz[:T:]raumin in Raiding, Austria in 2007 he directed a series of videos and documentaries exploring visual inspiration in music. His film From a Mess to the Masses (2011) reveals the genesis of visual creation of the band Phoenix.[6]
Wagner: A genius in Exile (2013) is a documentary revealing the landscapes that influenced Richard Wagner during his Swiss exile.[7]
In 2013, VfmK Verlag für moderne Kunst published Wagner in der Schweiz, a photographic essay exploring Richard Wagner's inspiration during his forced journey from Germany to Switzerland after the 1848 revolution. It was awarded the 2013 Prix de l'Académie Lyrique Pierre Bergé in Paris.[8]
In 2011, Wagner directed the film From a Mess to the Masses featuring the band Phoenix.[23][24] The film was commissioned by Arte and first broadcast in 2011.