Crystal Wagner is probably one of the most exciting artists alive today. Her artworks are bold explorations of textures, colors and forms. Her experimentation with materials and spontaneous approach in her process results in vibrant visuals that communicate with the audience on a primal level. I recently had the chance to talk to Wagner about her upcoming show in StolenSpace Gallery entitled “Bioforms and Blooms”. Here’s a little preview.

Interview by Crist Espiritu.
Art by Crystal Wagner.

Let’s talk about your upcoming show “Bioforms and Blooms”. What’s the story behind the title? How did you come up with the concept behind this show?

I am interested in human beings and their relationship with the natural world. In so many ways as people become more and more immersed in their modern landscapes and technologies; the natural forms and structures that can be found in nature are becoming foreign to them, making the idea of exotic ever more expansive. Bioforms and Blooms are exactly that; exotic forms that investigate the increasingly alien and otherworldly sculptural and visual language of the natural world. As hybrids, the pieces explore the biological realm that is blooming just beyond our shrinking periphery.

Your works seem like they are composed spontaneously…like there’s automatism involved. Can you share with us your process? How do you come up with these compositions?

Absolutely. I work intuitively. Intuition has to be active though. It’s important to participate and feed it. It’s such a representation of the way I see and the way I think. I am an active explorer of this crazy world and I tend to pay attention to the visual details that surround us. I focus on the way leaves connect to their stems… okay, maybe focus isn’t strong enough of a word.. I’m obsessive about it. I look at everything! I love the way water gathers in a crack in the sidewalk and creates a dark crease and a fading gradient, on piles, on string, anything scattered, anything textural. This helps me when I get into the studio and start to work. I think about rhizomes, growth patterns, branches, insects, cells, and I start working and I let the work evolve and grow.