Elise Wagner

Elise Wagner is an American painter, printmaker, educator, and innovator whose career bridges the realms of art and science. Born in 1966 in Jersey City, New Jersey, she relocated to Portland, Oregon, in 1986, where the Pacific Northwest's geology and natural beauty profoundly influenced her artistic development. Wagner earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Portland State University, studying painting, printmaking, sculpture, art history, geology, physics, and environmental biology, integrating these disciplines into the conceptual fabric of her work.

Wagner is renowned for pioneering the encaustic collagraph technique, which merges encaustic painting—a method involving pigmented beeswax—with collagraph printmaking. This innovation allows her to create textured, layered prints that explore themes inspired by physics, astronomy, geology, cartography, and meteorology. Her work often reflects on humanity's relationship with technology and the environment, contemplating our role as observers and the transformative effects of our presence on natural phenomena.

Throughout her career, Wagner has received numerous accolades, including the 2015–16 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, as well as grants from the Ford Family Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Her artwork is featured in galleries across the United States, including in Washington D.C., Palm Springs, Astoria, Oregon, and Seattle, and is held in corporate and private collections throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

In addition to her artistic practice, Wagner is a dedicated educator, teaching encaustic painting and printmaking techniques through workshops and presentations internationally. Her commitment to both creating and teaching art underscores her role as a significant figure in contemporary printmaking, continually exploring the intersections of art, science, and the human experience.