Melissa Wagner Lawler Headshot

Melissa Wagner Lawler

  • Teaching Faculty II, Printmaking & Book Arts
  • Teaching Faculty II, First Year Program
  • First Year Program & Retention Coordinator, Art & Design

Education

MFA, Minneapolis College of Art & Design
BFA, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design

Biography

Melissa Wagner-Lawler is an artist and Teaching Faculty in the Printmaking & Book Arts and First Year Program departments at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, both with an emphasis in printmaking. For over a decade, Wagner-Lawler’s practice has been dedicated to artist books and exploring the intricacies of the format. Her artist books use letterpress and other printmaking techniques to investigate elements of tension, the breakdown of information and the fragility of circumstance. To date, she has produced 15 editioned book works, all of which are housed within collections around the country. Her work is currently represented by Vamp & Tramp Booksellers.

Wagner-Lawler’s work has been exhibited widely and is held in over 40 notable collections, including the Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Stanford University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Washington, Yale University and the Smithsonian American Art & Portraiture Library.

redthreadletterpress.com