In works that “explore our notions of contentment and security,” artist Dietrich Wegner creates surreal images that bring clouds closer to the earth and explores identity through logos embedded onto children. These are works full of contradiction, both humorous and sobering, whimsical and harrowing. The ideas are conveyed in both sculptural works and prints, offering several points of entry into the mind of the artist.
On his website, Wegner’s statement expounds on that tension: “Every society accumulates contradictions amidst their ideals. Dietrich Wegner employs those contradictions, situating opposites together in sculpture and photography that feed on the friction between two conflicting ideas. When an image stands in limbo, between associations, it occupies a flexible place in our mind. Wegner creates images that are safe and unsettling, abject and beautiful.”
Wegner, who moved between Australia, Egypt, and Texas as a child, has exhibited work across the world. One notable backdrop was Banksy’s Dismaland, the temporary art project curated by the legendary street artist. Wegner recently had an exhibition at Erie Art Museum titled “I Think I Found It Upside Down,” featuring 2-D and 3-D work from Wegner.
Currently on view at 
In the short film “Clockwork Monsters: The Art and Automata of 
In Jesse Shaw’s “American Epic” series of hand-pulled linocut prints, the artist offers his interpretation of the American story, traversing consumerism, ritualism, technology, and other aspects in massive graphical works. So far, he’s completed more than half of the planned 50 prints in the series.