Will Wagenaar, April 2004

Stonewall Artist of the Month Defies Categorization Will Wagenaar’s Back to Center is Exhibit of ‘Constructions’ and ‘Reclamation Art’ Candice Russell, Independent In a cross between sculpture and painting, the art of Fort Lauderdale resident Will Wagenaar defies easy categorization. He calls them wall constructions or “reclamation art” made from recycled materials that he paints. Sponsored by ArtsUnited, his one-man show “Back to Center” opens with a meet-the-artist reception on Monday, April 5 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Stonewall Library & Archives (954.763.8565), 1717 North Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale for a month-long run. “While some of my work is political and social, this body of work is a little more personal,” says Wagenaar. “The works represent a journey from chaos to re-connection. I’m coming back to parts of myself that have been gone for awhile.” Collectively, the seven pieces that form his own spiritual path can be read in a universal sense about the value of knowing oneself. “South Florida offers distractions,” says the artist with a laugh, refusing to specify what he means. “I want the show to be personal in nature about my trying to find my soul after going off the mark a little. I also want people to relate to it in their own way.” Describing the pieces as abstract, Wagenaar explains the meaning of one called “Off Center:” “It’s about isolation, keeping our friends and family away when we’re going through tough times. The work is made of umbrella spines making a wire construction to describe the defense mechanisms that put people off.” The show resonates with hopefulness. “The pieces are set up chronologically,” he says. “Reconnection, that quickening of the soul, can happen in a heartbeat.” Adds Wagenaar, who turns 52 this month, “I’ve been an artist as long as I can remember. I’ve always made my living in a creative form. At 21, I had the talent to get a job as visual merchandising manager at Marshall Field. I absolutely loved it. Putting together store windows is not that different from putting on shows in theater — I was also a set designer for a community theater group.” Married for eleven years, the artist and his wife owned a successful architectural painting business in the 1980s that led to the formation of a school for others to learn about faux finishes and other techniques. Of the marriage, he says, “I don’t regret any of it. It was a wonderful, creative time.” Now he works in commercial interior design, specializing in residential design. “I am really an artist first,” says Wagenaar. The Chicago native moved to Florida for the sunshine. “After thirty-nine Chicago winters, I just couldn’t get through another one,” he says. “I was suffering from seasonal affective disorder.” After running a progressive art gallery in Miami during the late 1990s, Wagenaar now mulls over what he wants to do in Broward County, where he has lived the last three years. “Currently, I have a rather small studio space, but I want to do major installations and entire rooms,” he says. “A lot of materials need to be recycled. My art is earth friendly, and I want to do my part.”