Mario Wagner recently finished an illustration for Magnum Ice Cream! Yummy!
Mario Wagner just finished an illustration for the french newspaper Le Monde. The article “Mostly Faraway Perceptions” discusses the American perspective on French politics.
I’m pleased to be featured in the most recent CASA VOGUE issue, a supplement coming along with this month regular VOGUE ITALY.
Mario Wagner illustrated a weekly series for the Equity Magazine, a business supplement in the Neue Zuercher Zeitung.
Following the recent ABSOLUT BLANK campaign, ABSOLUT announces the ABSOLUT VODKA BLANK EDITION, designed by German artist Mario Wagner. The limited edition bottle features Wagner’s unique graphic expression, and draws strongly from the artwork he did for the ABSOLUT BLANK initiative a few months ago. The space-inspired BLANK EDITION will be available in seven markets, starting March 2012.
“Being one out of 20 artists to participate in the ABSOLUT BLANK creative movement was very inspiring. ABSOLUT gave us great artistic freedom, and I loved meeting artists from other countries and different creative disciplines. Therefore I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to extend my collaboration with ABSOLUT by creating my own bottle,” says Mario Wagner. “The bottle design is very personal to me, as it expresses my fascination with the idea that we might not be alone in this universe!”
Wagner’s bottle is inspired by the visual language of the 1960s, an era in which the space race and travelling to the moon captivated the world. To ensure continuity, he used some of the visual elements that were also in his artwork for the ABSOLUT BLANK campaign.
“Each visual element has its place,” Wagner explains. “The astronaut is a recurring visual element in my work, and it creates intrigue to the overall piece. With an empty speech bubble I give a voice to the astronaut, but I let the audience decide what he says. There are also celestial bodies, UFOs and the allseeing eye, which represents a person looking at the world from another dimension or place in time.”
“Mario Wagner has created a captivating and imaginary piece of art, and a bottle that will stand out on the shelf. Creating a unique bottle was not part of the initial plan, but we love it when our collaborations evolve into something new. This project beautifully shows how creativity leads our brand forward,” says Mathias Westphal, Global Brand Director at The Absolut Company.
ABSOLUT BLANK is an ABSOLUT collaboration where 20 artists were given a literal ABSOLUT blank bottle shaped canvas, and asked to fill it in with their creativity. Mario Wagner was one of the artists featured in this campaign. His work has been showcased in print, outdoor advertising and TV.
For more information about ABSOLUT BLANK or the ABSOLUT VODKA BLANK EDITION by Mario Wagner, please visit press.absolut.com.
I just finished two illustrations for the japanese issue of the Wired Magazine.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
A lot of things: movies, books, news, people… life tells you so many stories, dramas, coincidences and tragedies.
What type of environment do you prefer to work in? At home or in a studio? Listening to music?
I like working from home, where there are some distractions and I am always able to switch on my computer, but for my large artworks I have to figure out how a studio works for me. Over 80 inch wide artworks are too big to have at home.
As a working illustrator, do you still find time to create art for yourself?
Yes, of course, I do both things equally – I try at least – but I need freedom from rules imposed by art directors and magazines. It’s a great challenge to work with my clients but to create new ideas and, on a more personal level, I need to create art.
When you are creating commissioned work, how do you take yourself out of the project and focus on the idea that needs to be conveyed?
After years of experience in the field of creating illustrations, clients book me for my style and my way of interpreting their stories, so we both know what to expect from each other, but I always want to be open to new ideas and make my clients happy.
Do you read criticism done on your work?
When it comes from a client it has to be given factually. I don’t like it when they tell you that you can do whatever you want and than criticise the whole illustration, style, colors, idea, etc. It’s different regarding my own artworks, as this is more personal and they can sometimes disturb people but that can be OK too and people don’t have always to understand my art.
How do you deal with negative criticism?
Everybody has a different taste and opinion. I don’t like every illustration that I see in magazines either, so I’m OK with criticism.
What is your favorite way to get out of a creative block?
Listening to music, getting out of the house, going into a book store. Sometimes it’s hard to say what will help.
Is there any one publication that you still have aspirations to see yourself in?
I would like to do more fashion magazines. We will see what comes up in the future… Elle and Vogue, here i am 
Mario Wagner just finished some illustrations for the Meta Design Magazine.
I was pleased to do an installation piece at The Standard Hotel Hollywood. The box is located directly behind the front desk where a lounging woman resides between the hours of 8pm to 12am.The installation will be up for are month and is completed by two medium size artworks and three plexi glass boxes.
Mario Wagner just recently finished an illustration for the Scientific American Mind Magazine on how we consume.
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