Bio

Steve Wanna is a multi-disciplinary sound and visual artist whose work includes music, sound design for dance collaborations, sculpture, installation, photography, and works for mixed media. Born and raised in Lebanon, he immigrated to the United States with his family as a teenager, eventually receiving a doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Maryland in 2004. Most of Wanna’s work generally falls into one of two categories informed by the principles of emergence and auspicious coincidence as defined in systems theory, swarm intelligence theory, and Buddhism: under the right conditions, great beauty can emerge without much intervention. The first category includes works that highlight or capture the moment of their creation, a process frozen in anticipation of the potential of unfolding. These works are usually mixed media and draw on experimental techniques that use materials like paints, powders, and wax in atypical ways. The second includes works that are in constant flux, perpetually in states of becoming rather than being. These tend to utilize various electronic components driven by software designed by the artist to create carefully controlled randomness, which imbues the works with a sense of autonomous life. His work has been presented at home and abroad.
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Short CV (click here to download Full CV)

SOLO & 2-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019
  • In the Eternity of an Instant, Fisher Art Gallery, Alexandria, VA, USA (solo)
  • Time Still Moving, Angie Newman Johnson Gallery, Alexandria, VA, USA (solo)
  • Inevitable Expansion, Vivid Gallery, Washington, DC (2-person)
2014
  • A Slight Suggestion, Catalyst Projects at doris-mae, Washington DC, USA (solo)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
​2020
  • Not So Concrete, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC
  • Abstract, Takoma Park Community Center, Takoma Park, MD
2019
  • Oculus: Of A Place Unseen, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
  • In Full Color, Kimpton Carlyle Hotel, Washington DC
  • Art Night 2019, Washington Project for the Arts and Hickok Cole, Washington, DC
  • Board Out of Our Minds, Athenaeum, Alexandria VA (Winner, Best Invited Artist and Best Game Design awards)
  • Light Liminal, DC Arts Center, Washington, DC, USA
  • Sculpture Now, 2019, Brentwood Arts Exchange, Brentwood, MD, USA
  • Paint+Pigment+Color, Portico Gallery, Brentwood, MD, USA
2018
  • Inch by Inch, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
  • Fall Installations, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Juried 2, Hole in the Sky Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
  • MicroMonuments II, IA&A at Hillyer, Washington, DC, USA (catalogue)
  • The Cabinet of Curiosities, Athenaeum, Alexandria VA, USA
  • Illuminate, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Regional Juried Exhibition, Hill Center Galleries, Washington, DC, USA
  • Our World Exhibit, Washington, DC, USA
2017
  • 2nd Annual 5x5x5 Show, Alexandria, LA, USA
  • Edge of Sounds, MA/IN Festival, Matera, Italy
2016
  • DCAC, The Starry Night, Washington, DC, USA
  • NoiseGate Festival, New York, NY, USA
  • Making Sense, McLean Project for the Arts, McLean, VA, USA
  • Contemplative Practices for the 21st Century, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
  • Open Lens II, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2014
  • 5 x 5 x 5, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA, USA
2014
  • Smriti, International Computer Music Festival, Athens, Greece.​

MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATIONS (* = juried, † = invited)
2019
  • Liminal Incarnations† (video and fabric installation, with music by National Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players), Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA
2018
  • Parallels* (interactive video installation), Torpedo Factory Fall Installations*, Alexandria, VA 
2016
  • in a single drop…* (multimedia installation), NYU Steinardt, NoiseGate Festival, New York, NY
  • in a single drop…* (multimedia installation), Contemplative Practices for the 21st Century, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA
2015
  • Meditation on Form and Measure* (sound installation), Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA
  • Meditation on Form and Measure* (sound installation), Abrons Arts Center, NYCEMF, New York, NY
2014
  • Things you remember, things I forget† (mobile sound installation), Backpack Gallery, Alexandria, VA
  • sometimes, on a windy day† (video and fabric installation, part of a solo exhibition), Catalyst Projects at doris-mae, Washington, DC
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