Theo Wildanger



"To listen with their eyes, and their hearts, he cared little about whether the audience would be trained in art, or just people who knew what they liked, and found his stories something they could relate to their own lives or experiences." "If a smooth river rock came into the house by any hand, mine, Catherine's, or Carolyn's, it would soon be graced with a flower, or a face, and if it happened to be a face, the eyes were invariably powerful, and looked back at you with the intensity you'll see in 'Anna's Eyes', a portrait of his wife, the only woman he ever loved." "It is the curious and complex life that you will see in Theo's paintings. The rebel, the patriot, the democrat, the cynic, the man next door."



"Fleurs et Vin" oil on stretched canvas 24" x 18"



"Horses" oil on canvas 18" x 24" Private Collection



Maria Callas oil on canvas 24" x 30"



The Flower Garden oil on stretched cnavas 24" x 30" Courtesy Wall Family



Elam Dream Team oil on stretched canvas 24" x 30" Private Collection

Theo Wildanger



"...instead of shaking hands and listening to Theo's Luxembourg-Parisian greeting, my initial introduction was through a small selection of flower paintings rather than through the painter himself." "The small, dense, opaque, jewel-like flowers that compromised my first glimpse into Theo Wildanger's private world were only a tantalizing hint of the huge collection of paintings and objects that he created before his death at age 84." "The extent of this previously unseen collection was a startling surprise. Here were hundreds upon hundreds of paintings on every kind of surface from paper to tin, displaying a correspondingly wide array of subject matter." "Jim Kincaid's loving tribute to his father-in-law of almost two decades is presented in the following pages. The words and the images together provide a vibrant echo of an immensely talented , complicated artist. Theo Wildanger's visual vocabulary ranges from sensual nudes to tormented figures of Christ crucified; from shipwreck victims in a raging sea to serene Elam landscapes; from monochromatic, desperate figures to an abundance of brilliantly petaled bouquets. Whatever the subject, Theo's work is intensely personal, and always comes from the heart." Ann Dearsley- Vernon, Director of Education , The Chrysler Museum
Visions