Interview with Marc Wagner - The pleasure of painting
For this latest edition of the Interview, Art Work Circle went to meet the Luxembourg painter Marc Wagner between the walls of the Fellner Contemporary gallery, where he is currently presenting the "Grande réserve" exhibition until 24 February. An opportunity to talk about colour and experimentation.
Briefly introduce yourself:
I like to observe, watch and contemplate. I love being faced with a challenge, no matter how difficult, and finding solutions.
When and how did you come into contact with art?
Tell us about your artistic approach:
Where do you find your inspiration?
Often when I'm out walking. But sometimes I have flashes of inspiration. For example, My Umbrella, my castle (see photo) is an idea that came to me. Not all ideas find their place and don't always become a painting. Inspiration also comes from other artists, for example Matisse, David Hockney, Peter Doig, Alex Katz and many others. I'm often told that there's a naïve aspect to my work, like that of Douanier Rousseau, but it's not really a source of inspiration.
![](https://www.artworkcircle.lu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/my-umbrella-200-x-250-3-2-1024x823.jpg)
![](https://www.artworkcircle.lu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/my-umbrella-200-x-250-3-1024x823.jpg)
What messages/emotions do you want to convey through your work?
I don't have a precise message, but I think it's my character and intuition that come across in my paintings. I'm always told that they're very colourful and reflect optimism, that there's a joie de vivre that emanates from them. Which is paradoxical, because in reality my mind is very critical, I'm a fairly critical and sceptical person, but that's not what comes across in my paintings. There's no real message, just hidden metaphors.
If you had to choose one work of which you are most proud, why?
Frankly, there's no particular work of which I'm prouder than others, but I'm still a bit proud of everything I've done, without being pretentious, I'm quite modest. Perhaps I'm a bit proud of having dared to design paintings that can be turned around and looked at upside down, which gives a different perception (for example, My Umbrella, my castle).
It was an 11 x 2.5 metre fresco, more or less. I did the preparatory work and completed it in less than three days under an oppressive sun. They had to hold a parasol for me to work under (laughs) and then there was a heavy tropical downpour so all the paint ran out but I didn't let it discourage me. I went for a coffee while it passed and then I started again. In three days it was finished! It was a participative and educational project with children in difficulty. I painted healthy corals with fish, beautiful colours, sea turtles and on the other part of the wall the corals are invaded by rubbish, a washing machine, tyres etc. I was quite proud to do this. I was quite proud to carry out this project in difficult conditions in less than three days, including half a day with children. There was a report on TV.
What are your future projects?
![](https://www.artworkcircle.lu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-01-31-at-10.53.40-768x544.png)
What was the first thing you did this morning?I thought about how to organise my day
What is the subject of your work in a nutshell? Ego to
You'd never leave home without... My keys and my credit card
Your happy place : Lhe family, the workshop, nature
Your guilty pleasure : A good meal
Your favourite word : Love
What is your dream project? I want to carry on doing what I'm doing because I'm passionate about it. But there are two aspects to it: on the private side, it's being with my family, and my dream professional project would be to be able to continue experimenting.
Photo credits: Christof Weber, Marc Wagner