Mark

Wagner

Mark Wagner's artwork is an act of creative rebellion. He defiantly shreds the US dollar, transforming it into an alluring series of green-tinted collages bursting with detail, humor, and the iconic image of George Washington. Wagner's provocative collages invite us to contemplate the delicate balance between the value of money and the value of artistic expression.

Mark Wagner is best known for his intricate collages made entirely from deconstructed US dollars. Wagner destroys thousands of bills yearly to create works which pointedly and playfully explore the intersection of wealth, power, value, and American identity. Wagner's audacious destruction of this revered icon of American commerce is checked only by his virtuoso material manipulation, which renders what you will... portraits, plant life, fantastical beasts, or allegorical scenes recasting George Washington in every roll.

Wagner's artwork is an entry point to a conversation extending far beyond the art world. Decades dedicated to destroying banknotes has provided Wagner with a unique perspective on the nature of money. Modern man's obsession with finance and our wistful attempts to tame it through economics belies money's emotional, mercurial... even fictional nature. Wagner addresses these issues in writing, lecture, and interview as eloquently as he does through his artwork.

Wagner's work is collected by dozens of institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and Museum of Modern Art. It has shown extensively including at The Metropolitan Museum, The Getty Research Institute, and National Portrait Gallery. It's been seen in Time, Newsweek, Harpers, and Art in America as well as on CBS, PBS, and the silver screen.

Mark Wagner

Mark Wagner was born in 1976 in the United States.