The interviews are conducted by VB Contemporary's director, Vian Borchert. Besides being a multidisciplinary noted international artist. Borchert has been a writer and art critic for over a decade contributing with art articles in a national online newspaper within the U.S.A. Borchert gets called upon to cover and write reviews for major retrospectives and exhibitions in world-class American museums. Borchert is also the Art Lead / curator of the art segment for "Oxford Public Philosophy Journal" for the Turn 5 issue - "Oxford Public Philosophy" is a philosophy journal based at Oxford University, UK. The journal is a space for critically questioning what philosophy is and how we're doing it, in form and content.
Interview with Glenn Wexler
Glenn Wexler
About the artist:
Glenn Wexler is a multidisciplinary esteemed artist who is Chicago based. Wexler creates urban themed artwork and installations with a cultural and environmental awareness. As a teen, Wexler was intrigued and inspired by Chicago's Chinatown’s architecture and culture. Wexler's work represents a number of projects such as the Tree collection and others. The Tree series conveys a multitude of sentiments like the depiction of isolation and vulnerability along with emphasis on a place where the human impact on nature is evident while also imparting the possibility of transformation and renewal.
Tell us about your "Beginnings", how did you start your artist journey? How did your childhood influence your creative career path? And, how is your beginnings / childhood "Reflective" within your work?
So, when I was a 12-year-old boy in the 1970s, my best friend and I would often sneak onto the transit system in Chicago, and we’d explore the city. On one occasion, while prowling the trains, we stumbled upon Chinatown. Looking down at the neighborhood from the train platform, I was intrigued and exhilarated by the signage, architectural structures, and people; it was as if we discovered another world. This was a life-changing moment for me and helped shape my creative interests and took me down a road to explore urban culture within my art practice.
The Tree #21 (Los Angeles)
Walk us through your day from morning till evening along with your creative process? What does a day for "Glenn Wexler" look like? Where do you find inspiration in the area by which you reside? And, how is your surroundings "Reflective" in your work?
My creativity comes from my personal and physical journeys, as I travel from one city to the next. While traveling, I bring my camera and journal, and continually shoot locations and sketch out my ideas. Once I’m fixated on a new body of work, I’ll pull from my photos and journal, and go to work. Weekly, I meet with the designer/technician I work with, together we walk through my notes, doodles, and the images I’ve selected. We discuss what I’m trying to achieve and compose the final print files that eventually become the focal point of my pieces. The rest of my week is spent gathering materials, meeting with service vendors, and getting into the studio to physically build the artworks and installations. I think of my work as a bridge between art and design so, I surround myself design objects and artworks that inspire me.
As an artist, what have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced in your career? And, what have been your best achievements for you personally and professionally? Who are your favorite artists and why do you find their art captivating?
I believe I face many of the same challenges that most artists face, continuing to get gallery directors and curators interested in exhibiting my work and find opportunities to create large scale, long running or permanent, projects. Over the years I have created several site-specific installations for public, private, and commercial spaces, and the largest and most satisfying was for a company in Wisconsin called Acuity. The illuminated installation, built for an underground pedestrian walkway, is more than 220 running feet and features over 200 site photographs. Also, for my most recent solo exhibition, I created an installation titled US, The Tree i4. The artwork was composed of over 120 mirrored panels and formed a brick pattern on the interior wall of the gallery. Additionally, the work featured a 10ft high white outline of a fully bloomed tree, and representing a shadow, a solid bare tree in black media cut diagonally across the floor. This artwork had a very personal meaning to me, and I felt that it was quite impactful.
I’ve always been drawn to artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Yayoi Kusama, and Olafur Eliasson.