SEATTLE, WA.- From May 5 through May 31, 2022, Frederick Holmes & Co will present a featured exhibition of works by nationally renown abstract painter Elise Wagner (b. 1966, Jersey City, New Jersey). The first featured exhibition since 2019 in Seattle of Wagner’s abstract compositions in wax and oil, some with under layers of collagraph prints on paper, ELISE WAGNER: TIPPING POINTS showcases the artistic perspective on the science of our changing planet, and convergence of opposites.

More than a dozen encaustic paintings and a 55” x 55” abstract work form the centerpiece of the exhibition. Begun in 2020, these works are described by author and art critic Richard Speer, "Elise Wagner’s sumptuous paintings inhabit the shared space between abstraction, landscape, cartography, astronomy, and environmental activism. Replete with arcane symbols and subtle chromatic atmospherics, her compositions are densely layered, materially and metaphorically. They whisper of cosmic mysteries, the bounties of the land, the trajectories of great rivers, and the ominous melting of glaciers in the wake of global warming. They sing a hymn to earthly paradise, even as they sound the warning bell against paradise too easily lost.”

Merging encaustic painting techniques developed in ancient Greece, used in Egypt and in other parts of the ancient world, with the artist’s decades of exploration of the encaustic medium, Tipping Points represents Wagner’s major work for the past two years. The works bridge the divide between an arcane art medium and the modernity of scientific perspectives on the impact of humans on the planet.

Consistently, Wagner has pushed the boundaries of encaustic painting both in terms of its traditional use and in relationship with her exploration of printmaking. Her practice in encaustic painting and printmaking has led to innovation in the development of a collagraph printmaking wax, through the production of this medium, Wagner has expanded the limits of what wax can do and express. This exhibition of Elise Wagner’s works will immerse visitors in layer after layer of pigmented wax in rich, deep, color, line, symbols, and other more neutral, contemplative works.

“Elise has championed encaustic painting introducing the medium to people all over the world for decades and this exhibition will highlight the masterful painting and innovation that is integral to Elise’s amazing artistry,” said Fred Holmes of Frederick Holmes & Co, who’s been her gallery dealer in western Washington since 2013. “I am extremely excited to share what will be an unforgettable encounter with the union of art and science in contemporary abstract art.”