Unlike her male counterparts, Dagmar’s muse doesn’t sit or recline in a languid pose, tempting us with her voluptuous curves and inviting eyes.
On the contrary her nudes capture the moments in a woman’s life, which have very little to do with modelling but rather multitasking and the mundanities of life.
Her portraits depict a reality that we all recognise and while not romantic or reverential, these works remain evocative and curiously sensual.
As we peek into the private world of Dagmar’s women in their everyday, this muse is not prostrate, but active and industrious, oblivious to the viewer.
This entirely original approach to the muse doesn’t seek to sugarcoat but rather to engage which means she is no longer an object to be gazed at but a subject which compels and fascinates us.
“These works use colour a lot more to push the boundaries to create an emotional atmosphere,” says Dagmar.
“I paint what I’m emotionally connected to. So while I paint, I really lose myself, painting what I feel. My subjects and narrative are things I can relate to, reflecting upon in my own life. I love people; I am interested in how we relate to one another and I guess I love painting women.”
They are strong women, but feminine and confident, adds Dagmar.
“My paintings are from a woman’s viewpoint, which is invariably very different to a man’s. A lot of my friends have children, run a household, paint or work in a job and are also wives or partners – they are all things to all people and this is what you see in my paintings.
“I capture them off guard, in their private but innocuous moments, where they are their essential, unconscious selves.”
Technically trained at the famous Julian Ashton School of Art, Dagmar honed her skills and artistic expression at the New York Studio school and completed her fine arts education on scholarship at Monash University in 2009.
She has continually exhibited since 1988 winning numerous art prizes, awards and being a finalist multiple times including the Portia Geach Memorial Prize and the Doug Moran art prize.
She has completed a number of artist residencies receiving grants and commissions throughout her illustrious career. Her works can be found in many private and public collections.
- The Wagner Contemporary is located in the Paddington Arts Precinct. There will be a preview of the exhibition available from September 3, with the artist herself present from 4-6pm on September 10.
