Merrill Wagner: Minimalist (1935-)
Merrill Wagner is one of the least appreciated minimalists of our time. Maybe because her husband is such a famous artist himself. In 1969, Wagner married painter Robert Ryman. The couple first met when Ryman responded to an ad in the paper for a puppy. He had wanted to get the puppy for his son Ethan (Ethan is a son from a previous marriage with art critic Lucy Lippard). But even without meeting her husband, I believe she would still be an important artist of contemporary art.
Most of her recent work consists of large swathes of color on steel sheets, as in Morning, 1998 (shown below). Though abstact painting is her focus, she is also a talented realist.
Morning, 1998
Untitled (Couples), 1994
Benton, 1998
