Carina Wagenaar: Three-Dimensional Wall Ornaments

Carina Wagenaar is a compelling voice in contemporary visual art. Having graduated from the Amsterdam University of the Arts (formerly known as the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten), she developed a distinct artistic vocabulary focused on depth, symbolism and material reinvention.

Wagenaar’s signature works are large-scale “medallion” wall-objects—hybrid pieces that merge art, design and fashion. She draws inspiration from cameos, lace, relics and ancient symbolism, and transforms found fragments, pieces of structure and everyday materials into three-dimensional stories under semi-spherical acrylic glass. 

Her process is one of deconstruction and re-assembly: taking shapes and structures apart, transporting them into a new context, and letting the moment’s identity crystallize in a symbolic field of tension.