Michael Wallner

Becoming an artist is one of the best things I’ve ever done. I still can’t quite believe it’s actually my job to look for the beauty around me.

My latest collection celebrates the beauty of the city through the shapes, outlines and colours that define its character. London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, Miami, and Dubai all feature in my portfolio. And more to come.

Before becoming a full-time artist I spent more than twenty years in the television industry working on entertainment programs, talk shows, documentaries, animations and a children’s novel. I even had a job writing poetry about pirates.

But creating original and innovative art was always my true passion.

One of my favourite things about being an artist is experimenting . I love the challenge of finding a different way of presenting the world around me, whether it’s the quest to find the extraordinary views, strangle angles and fantastic shapes, or the search for the most unusual materials to work with.

I am constantly on the lookout for the most unusual views and angles

My art is created by digitally manipulating and painstakingly colouring my own photographs to produce pieces on usual materials.

Many of my pieces are created from aerial photographs, often taken while hanging out of helicopters with the doors off. The best patterns and abstract shapes in our landscapes can be seen from the air, I think. The grid patterns of New York’s avenues, LA’s Hollywood Hills, the beautiful shape of the Thames winding through London, and Hong Kong’s sensational skyline have all inspired my work.

Finding the right material can be just as important as the image itself. Using neon to show the shape of the River Thames in a glowing blue light highlights the beauty of its shape. River of Light 2, uses new and aged copper to illustrate the mix of old and new in London’s skyline.

My current portfolio features work created with brushed aluminium, reclaimed wood, brass, vintage windows, as well as neon, magnetic, and L.E.D lights. I’ve recently bought the side of a 1950’s telephone box for a future piece.

I love making an exhibition of myself

After many years navigating the minefield of live television I finally have my own art studio at Wimbledon Art Studios, a wonderful creative community of more than 200 creatives in South London (You can read more about my journey from TV to PVs in How I Became An Artist and Other Stories blog). It’s an inspiring place to work, surrounded by so many people experimenting and creating.

I love taking part in art exhibitions and fairs, I’ve been involved in more than 50 in the last few years including The Affordable Art Fair (London, Singapore, New York, Milan) The Other Art Fair (London, New York, Los Angeles), Wimbledon Art Fair (an open studios event at my studio complex), and Art For Youth at the Mall Galleries.

In 2020 I was expecting to exhibit in Los Angeles, New York, and London. But sadly these shows were cancelled due to the pandemic. Throughout lockdown I took part in‘The V-Art Show’ - an innovative new art experience for the times we live in, where you can chat to artists about their work live on Zoom.

And we also hosted our 5th A River Runs Through It, our annual London-inspired group show at gallery@oxo, which featured a fantastic exhibition in a virtual Oxo gallery, as well as a series of curated events and talks. Find out more at www.ariverrunsthroughit.london. Follow me on Instagram @michaelwallner_art.