The eerie mystery of science fiction and the suspense of the cinematic thriller collide in the imagination of Mario Wagner, who with his Controlled Spaces collection of mixed media wood panels invites the viewer to fill in the gaps in the narrative themselves in scenes where almost anything is possible.
Drawing from the contradicting feelings of uncertainty and limitless potential that pervaded the space-race era of the 1950s, German-born Berkeley artist Wagner has created a series of secretive scenes populated by balaclava-clad agents of good or evil, carrying out their shady business half hidden by grey suits and grey shadows, against a backdrop of lifeless lunar landscapes and alien skies populated by classic B-movie flying saucers. Obscure and unsettled, the truth is out there but definitely open to interpretation, and as for the horse, well that’s anyone’s guess. Breeze Block Gallery in Portland, Oregon, is declassifying the retro-futurist collection until 30 August.
0085632
12 x 9 inch,
mixed media on wood panel,
2013
Controlled Spaces,
at Breeze Block Gallery
Installation View
Controlled Spaces,
at Breeze Block Gallery
Installation View
5582022
12 x 9 inch,
mixed media on wood panel,
2013
2739634
30 x 40 inch,
mixed media on canvas,
2013
2316644
12 x 9 inch,
mixed media on wood panel,
2013
Controlled Spaces,
at Breeze Block Gallery
Installation View
Controlled Spaces,
at Breeze Block Gallery
Installation View
1008473
12 x 9 inch,
mixed media on wood panel,
2013
7364902
30 x 40 inch,
mixed media on wood panel,
2013
9117131
12 x 9 inch,
mixed media on wood panel,
2013
Controlled Spaces,
at Breeze Block Gallery
Installation View
