Paul Frank Wagner

“The superficial tendency of many contemporary artists is not applicable here, my work holds true because it is prime and its depth has an everlasting character, a profound spirit that resonates through the observer’s eye. The strange sensation that time has deposited itself as layers on the canvas. Although the setting is a “cool” one, there is sort of performance taking place, an attempt to reflect our society’s image, while breaking through the luster and conformity of the world. I want the viewer to be attracted and trapped by the power of the representation, a kind of force, the signs of a combat from which we cannot escape. The viewer is entirely captured by the tornado of entwined cords that creates an abstract, yet extremely humane landscape. The tension and contortions of the rope paintings, give the viewer an intimate feeling that goes beyond anything of a tangible realm. Gestures in the act of creation are unlike those of any of the avant-gardes; they are not vain and theatrical but rather pragmatic movements, tormented by my very real conscience mind. I want the viewer to hold his breaths and truly experience the work of art. The pieces remain in perpetual tension. I envelop, wrap and enclose my subject in a "frame"  - seemingly a banal concept – yet it results in the perfect demarcation for light and shade to sneak through, allowing the viewer the fascinating hues of our beautiful world. And those who look at these works of art are more than mere spectators; they are readers, travelers. Strange as it may seem, my  “rope paintings” are like a book open to an otherwise tame page but that forbids passivity, and invites us to a profound dialogue. The dialogue is born from the fact that these “paintings” are active and create a vital, dynamic movement. We are therefore far away from a two-dimensional painting, firm and inert, but very much inside an energetic declaration between myself and the spectator/ reader.”