Catherine Wagner

Wall Tape Constructions

2019-2022

Architecture has long been a point of inquiry within my practice, with the construction process being a recurring theme. Using my studio of 21 years as the site to perform these drawing interventions, I use painter's tape to visually reference the blueprint. I create abstracted drawings in situ, citing the architecture's idiosyncratic structure as a catalyst to construct these newly imagined geometries. The process is highly intuitive, with one line informing the next, allowing me to respond to the space in the moment. Taking from the vernacular of construction, I roll on generic house paint, referencing the taxonomy of paint colors. While the architecture links the form, color, texture, and patterns of the drawing, the drawing itself becomes integrated into the space, allowing both the architecture and drawing to become equally weighted. The photograph finalizes the process by flattening the architectural space and the drawing together, while also serving as the vehicle which allows it to be viewed outside of the privacy of the studio walls.

Link to: Conversation with Catherine Wagner and Apsara DiQuinzio, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and Phyllis C. Wattis |MATRIX Curator