Double or Nothing Exhibition

Double or Nothing brings together Mark Wagner and Stacey Lee Webber, two artists who radically transform currency into art, challenging its symbolism, power, and meaning. While money typically serves as a rigid measure of value and economic exchange, Wagner and Webber manipulate its physical form, revealing deeper narratives about labor, worth, and identity.

Mark Wagner is best known for his intricate collages made entirely from deconstructed U.S. dollar bills. With surgical precision, he cuts and reconstructs banknotes into elaborate compositions that question the very foundations of value. His work explores themes of wealth, power, and American identity, often featuring allegorical scenes, iconic figures, and surreal reinterpretations of financial symbolism. By repurposing money as an artistic medium, Wagner subverts its intended function, turning an object of commerce into a powerful visual critique. His pieces invite viewers to reconsider the meaning of currency—both as a tangible material and a societal construct.

Stacey Lee Webber takes a similarly transformative approach, using pennies as her primary medium. A trained metalsmith, she meticulously cuts, shapes, and assembles coins into intricate sculptures and jewelry. Her work highlights the physicality of money, emphasizing the labor embedded in every cent. Webber’s technique honors craftsmanship, repurposing discarded and overlooked objects to create pieces that celebrate the working class and the passage of time. From delicate lace-like patterns cut from copper coins to larger sculptural works that reference industrial tools and everyday artifacts, her work challenges perceptions of value and material worth.

Both artists use their chosen currency not only as a medium but as a metaphor—interrogating the systems that assign value and dictate economic hierarchies. Double or Nothing is more than a showcase of meticulous craftsmanship; it is a dialogue about the fluidity of money, its power to shape societies, and its potential for reinvention. By breaking down and reconstructing currency, Wagner and Webber invite us to see money not just as an instrument of commerce, but as a deeply symbolic, malleable, and thought-provoking material.