Artist Statement

William Geisler's work is intriguing, striking and complex, inviting the viewer at first to take in the totality of a piece from afar, then to discover what may be less visible within deeper layers. His encaustic art – an ancient technique dating to 100-300 AD – employs heated beeswax blended with colored pigments, paper, wood, and found materials that come together in bold, unique, and unexpected ways. Geisler's work may include linear, hand-cut paper strips dipped in wax and applied to the work's surface, where color is achieved from images printed on the paper or built through an extensive subtractive and additive process that engages the pigment in the wax. "I'm attracted to the abstract nature and subtleties of layering and depth that encaustic brings, as well as to the unpredictability and lack of control you're often confronted with using the hot wax medium. An idea you may have at the start isn't ever guaranteed to finish as originally conceived. It's a constant adventure of discovery and rediscovery and surprise, and that's what inspires me." Geisler attended Marycrest College and The University of Iowa. He lives and works in Austin, Texas.