July 9-Aug. 9: ‘Lines, Layers and Land’ brings abstract landscapes to Axel’s

July 2, 2025  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

'Low Tide,' by H. Keith Wagner. Courtesy photo

Visual art turns a page at Axel’s next week with the July 9 opening of H. Keith Wagner’s abstract landscapes in a show titled ‘Lines, Layers and Land.’ 

On view through Aug. 9, the show will have an opening reception with the artist on Friday, July 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. 

Whitney Aldrich, owner of Axel’s Gallery and Frame Shop, writes that the show “presents a quiet and contemplative body of work” by Wagner, a landscape architect who now shares his painted landscapes. Wagner turns his eye for form, space, and material from physical landscapes, now offering a view inward, Aldrich describes. 

'Abandoned,' by H. Keith Wagner. Courtesy photo

'Station,' by H. Keith Wagner. Courtesy photo

“Wagner brings the same clarity of line and reverence for place into his studio practice,” she said. 

Artist H. Keith Wagner's exhibit will be on view at Axel's July 9-Aug. 9. Courtesy photo

Rooted in the agrarian landscapes of his youth, Wagner’s paintings distill open fields, furrowed soil, and horizon lines into rhythmic compositions of shape and surface. The images are more evocations than mapped remembrances of place. Wagner’s minimal compositions, rich with texture and restraint, suggest that absence can be as powerful as presence, Aldrich observes. 

“With a restrained palette and a devotion to the essential, Wagner’s paintings carry both the precision of design and the looseness of recollection. Line, repetition, and texture become a kind of language—whispering something just beyond the visible,” the show announcement continues.

The gallery will have light snacks and refreshments for the July 11 reception to meet Wagner. The public is invited to this free event.  

Regular hours at Axel’s, 10 Stowe St., are Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.