Richard Wagener lives and works in California, creating meticulous wood-engravings. This technique involves engraving the image on the mirror-smooth surface of a meticulously prepared endgrain woodblock.
Wagener first earned a degree in Biology from the University of San Diego. However, the artistic impulse won out, and he went on to acquire an MFA in painting form the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
In 1980 Wagener switched from paint to printmaking. His prints have been incorporated into a number of illustrated books, most notably those created at Peter Koch Printers. His works in these books are included in the Special Collections of the New York, Boston, San Francisco and Zurich libraries, as well as several prestigious University libraries. He has had exhibitions in England, Paris, Korea and throughout the United States.
Mountains & Religion
Mountains & Religion is a collection of twenty wood engravings based upon a journey to Nepal and Tibet in the autumn of 1995. The images are from the Kathmandu valley, trekking up the Kali Gandaki valley on the Annapurna region of Nepal, then traveling to Lhasa, Shigatse, and the countryside of Tibet.
The book was designed and printed by Richard Wagener at Mixolydian Editions, Petaluma, California. The text face is Monotype Bembo composed by Michael and Winifred Bixler, and printed on handmade Yamagampi paper. The book was bound by Tini Miura using handmade Lokta paper from Nepal and protected by a wrap-around of Japanese silk Genji cloth and Kyoseishi paper. 11 ¼ x 6 ¾.
The edition is limited to 40 copies signed and numbered by the engraver/printer.
$1450
