Antoine Wagner

Antoine Amadeus Wagner-Pasquier ( , ; 1982) is an American-French visual artist. He works between Woodstock, NY, and Paris, France. His work uses visual language drawn from nature, which refers to mythological narratives and the sublime.

Early life and education Wagner was born in Evanston, Illinois. He is the son of German opera manager Eva Wagner-Pasquier, and the great-great-grandson of German composer Richard Wagner and great-great-great-grandson of Franz Liszt. He graduated from Northwestern University, Illinois, and Sciences Po, Paris, with a double bachelor's degree in Theatre and Political Science in 2005.

He continued his education in film at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2007.

Wagner: A Genius in Exile (2013) is a documentary revealing the landscapes that influenced Richard Wagner during his Swiss exile.

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.

Artwork Wagner's mediums 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.

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. Wagner examines the themes of identity, geography and spirituality and offers the viewer an escape from traditional geographic and artistic boundaries.

Through his exhibitions including Exil (Museum am Rothenbaum, 2013), and 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.

In 2018, Wagner directed Act II of the Opera Die Walkure at Frank Gehry's New World Center in Miami.

Wagner's site-specific multimedia installation Sentimental Analysis (April 2019) responds to the legend of Ara the Beautiful at the National Gallery of Armenia.

Exhibitions

2009: The Open, Group Show, Deitch Projects, New York City. 2011: Landscapes Escaped: Henn Gallerie, Munich, Germany. 2013–2016: Exil, The Opera Bastille, Paris, 2013; The Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Germany, 2013; Palazzo Vendramin, Venice, Italy, 2013; Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, 2015; Stedelijk Museum Breda, Breda, Netherlands, 2016; 2015: Cadences: La Filature, Mulhouse, France. 2015: Wagner in der Schweiz (screening), Goethe-Institut, California, United States. 2016: Un Musee Imaginaire, Group Show, Collection Lambert (Collection Lambert), Avignon, France. 2016: Common Denominator, Theater St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland. 2016: Bredaphoto, Stedelijk Museum Breda, Breda, Netherlands. 2016: Interference, Galerie RM, Paris. 2017: Kundry, La Filature de Mulhouse, France. 2017: Supersonic, Deck, Singapore. 2017: Echo, Julien David, Jinguamae, Tokyo. 2017: Silence, Atelier Hermes Pantin, France. 2017: Distortion, Youngfu, Shanghai, China 2017: Antoine Wagner, Phillips, Paris 2017: Julierpass, Tait memorial Fund with Stuart Skelton, Saint Paul's Church, London 2018: Liquid La patinoire, Royal Gallerie Valerie Bach, Bruxelles 2018: Looking at sound: Symposium at the Goethe Institut, Tokyo 2018: Studies Between Silence: Nancy Nasher, Soluna Music and Arts Festival, Dallas, Texas 2018: ACT II - Die Walkure, New World Center, Miami 2018: Orient Blue, In Cadaques Festival, Cadaques, Spain 2018: Artist talk, Spring Place, New York 2018 Morceau Choisi, (group show), Bubenberg Art Paris 2019: Conscience of Angel's Landing, Art Paris, Grand Palais Paris, 2019: Sentimental Analysis, site-specific multimedia exhibition at the National Gallery of Armenia

Collections

Wagner's work is held in the following permanent collections: Yvon Lambert Gallery, Paris Museum of Ethnology, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Filmography

Wagner assisted director Michael Haneke on his American remake of Funny Games in 2007.

In 2011, Wagner directed the film From a Mess to the Masses featuring the band Phoenix. Arte and first broadcast in 2011, commissioned the film.

Wagner has directed videos featuring Julien David, Phoenix, Johnny Hallyday, Kate Moss, Maria Korchetkova,

Wagner has also worked as a cinematographer.

Residencies

Wagner has completed residencies at Robert Wilson's Byrd Hoffman Watermill Center, NY (2005), Antoine Wagner: Kundry (2015). Gourcuff Grandenigo, Montreuil. . With texts by Eric Mezil and Carole Blumenfeld. Patrice Chéreau: An Imaginary Museum (2016). Arles: Actes Sud. P. 71–74. You (2016). .