Jeff Wheeler
Artist Statement
Jeff F. Wheeler (b.1967, Albuquerque NM) has been a stalwart of the Texas Art scene for over
twenty-five years. He burst on to the scene in the late 1990’s from his isolated dusty studio in
Lubbock, Texas when he and his brother became known for their infamous recurring Texas art
and music hootenanny known as ULTERIOR MOTIFS. Since then, UM has travelled to galleries
and museums all over Texas and featured some of Texas’ most celebrated artists and musicians
including Ed and Nancy Kienholz, Robert Rauschenberg, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Terry Allen,
and Jesse “Guitar” Taylor among many others.
Known for his surrealistic and often humorous take on life in the modern-day American West,
Wheeler works in a number of stylistic and thematic directions including drawings, paintings,
collages, ceramics, and found object assemblages.
Rarely beginning with any preconceived idea or theme, he speaks of “…[allowing his] hand to
follow the inspiration rather than lead or search for it. One minute I might be daydreaming about
sitting in the hot tub with Cezanne’s bathers, and the next, I might be drawing on a memory or a
news story from the day for inspiration. I act on whatever moves me in the moment and then
keep on reacting to the last move until the work is finished.”
The results are several different avenues of experimentation all linked by his unmistakable
singular style. The crisp technicality of his graphic line drawings and dramatic charcoal shapes
combine with the loose, unpredictable marks of his painting, text references, sculptural
ephemera and elements of vintage and salvaged paper, to weave together a fantastical mystery
novella that the viewer must unravel on his/her/their own terms. There is an evident drive to
preserve the nostalgia of the past and give it a fresh and often twisted makeover. His process
creates a tactile timeline of the revered landscape of the American West he was raised on and
then merges it with his brand of historical fiction and present wanderings, both physical and
psychic. Wheeler’s art comes as much from the ever-present daily life around him as from his
inner landscape and historical interests and whims.
Collaboration plays a big part of his practice as he believes it can lead him into ideas he would
not normally get to. He has worked with many of his artist friends including Daniel Johnston,
Jack Massing, James Surls, and many others.
His work has been featured in over 200 exhibitions all over Texas and the world including shows
in Greece, Turkey, Peru, Spain, Italy, and more. In 2013, he was awarded the Dozier Travel
Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art which he used for a residency at the invitation of his friend
and heroine Nancy Reddin Kienholz in the legendary Kienholz Schoolhouse in Hope, Idaho. He
is featured in Catherine Anspon’s definitive Texas art survey publication, “Texas Artists Today,”
published by Marquand Books in 2013.
Wheeler currently works in San Antonio, Texas where he is Director and curator at his gallery,
Space C7, and co-Founder of the ongoing concert series known as the Echo Bridge Concert
series.
ABRIDGED CURRICULUM VITAE
Jeffrey Franklin Wheeler
EDUCATION
1996 MFA Drawing/Painting, Central Washington University, Ellensburg,
Washington
1993 BFA Design Communications, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2019-Present
Creative Director/ Curator, SPACE C7, San Antonio, Texas
2016-2018
Art Residency, Marusici, Croatia
2015-2016
Co-Director and Curator, The Studio @ Splendora, (James Surls’ historic compound), Splendora, Texas
2010-2015
Director/Curator, Farm 2 Market Arts, LHUCA, Lubbock, Texas
2003- 2013
Instructor, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
SELECTED SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2025 REGARDING MOUTAINS no. 2, Charles Adams Gallery, Lubbock, TX, June
(with Paul Milosevich)
2025 NOW EVEN BETTER, Koelsch Gallery, Houston, TX, April
2025 NOVEL TOYS,TRICKS, AND GAMES, Texas A&M Commerce
(with brother, Bryan)
2024 REGARDING MOUNTAINS, No Man’s Land Gallery, Santa, Fe, NM
(with Paul Milosevich)
2024 ACTUAL SCENES / GENUINE CHARACTERS, The Mural Project, Wheeler Brothers,
Saint Anthony Hotel, San Antonio, TX
2024 NOW EVEN BETTER no. 2, Houston Heights Theater, Houston, TX
2024 NOW EVEN BETTER, Cothren Contemporary, Houston, TX
2024 NOVEL TOYS, TRICKS, AND GAMES, Ro2 Gallery, Dallas, TX (with brother, Bryan)
2024 ACTUAL SCENES / GENUINE CHARACTERS no. 5, St. Anthony Hotel, San Antonio,
TX (part of a year long residency and mural project)
2024 NOW EVEN BETTER, Cothren Contemporary Pop-up, Space C7, San Antonio, TX
2023 ACTUAL SCENES / GENUINE CHARACTERS no. 4, Flight Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2023 ERRATIC DEVELOPMENTS (collabs with James Porter), MFA, Oak Cliff, TX
2023 ACTUAL SCENES / GENUINE CHARACTERS no. 3, LHUCA, Lubbock, TX
2023 ACTUAL SCENES / GENUINE CHARACTERS no. 2, McKinney Avenue
Contemporary, Dallas, TX
2022 ACTUAL SCENES / GENUINE CHARACTERS, Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, TX
2021 SELECTIONS FROM THE LOCKDOWN, Mighty Fine Arts, Dallas, TX
2021 UNDER THE ECHO BRIDGE, Echo Bridge, San Antonio, TX
2020 CAMP LUCKY #2, Heidi Vaughan Fine Art and
Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston TX (with Paul Horn)
2019 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #8, Kessler Theater, Dallas, TX
(collaborations with Daniel Johnston)
2019 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #7, Heights Theater,
Houston, TX (collaborations with Daniel Johnston)
2019 NOW EVEN BETTER (New Ceramics), Damas Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2019 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #6, Damas Gallery,
San Antonio, TX (collaborations with Daniel Johnston)
2019 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #5, kind of a small array,
Magdalena, NM
2019 LOW-TECH INNOVATIONS DONE AT A LEISURELY PACE #2, (Work by the
Wheeler Brothers), Flight Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2019 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #4, Collaborations with Daniel
Johnston in conjunction with Hi How Are You Day, Volcom Gardens, Austin, TX
2018 NEW WORK, Galerie Mimice, Mimice, Croatia
2017 WHEELER BRO’S RETROSPECTIVE, Buddy Holly Center, Lubbock, TX
2017 NEW WORK AND COLLABORATIONS, (With Bryan Wheeler), G Spot
Gallery, Houston, TX
2018 THE SPLENDORA YEAR, The James Surls Studio @ Splendora, Splendora, TX
2016 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #3, Redbud Gallery, Houston, TX
(Collaborations with Daniel Johnston)
2015 ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL #2, Flight Gallery, San Antonio, TX
(collaborations with Daniel Johnston)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 TEXAS COLLABORATES, Heidi Vaughan Fine Art, Houston, TX, April,
(Collaborations with James Surls, Susan Budge, Jack Massing and others)
2025 THE URGE TO NOTHING IS EVERYTHING, Flight Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2025 AFFORDABLE ART FAIR, Koelsch Gallery, NYC, NY
2025 OUTSIDER ART FAIR, Koelsch Gallery, NYC, NY
2024 CONNECTOR: A SURVEY, Rudolph Blume, Houston, TX
2024 FAN OF A FAN, Space C7, San Antonio, TX
2023 RED DOT, The Contemporary, San Antonio, TX
2021 MURALS @ THE MILL, New Braunfels, TX
2020 RED DOT GROUP SHOW, Blue Star, San Antonio, TX
2019 GROUP SHOW, Flight Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2017 REFLEX ON ROME, Oxford Gallery, Rome Italy
2017 LA DONNA E L’AUTUNNO, Museo Crocetti, Rome, Italy
2016 HOUSTON PAINTING SHOW, HCC Central Art Gallery, Houston, TX
2014 RIPPING AND STICKING: THE ART OF COLLAGE, Gallery 360, Lancaster, PA
2014 BIG HAIR AND SPARKLY PANTS, Webb Gallery, Waxahachie, TX
2014 TEXAS DRAWS III, Russell Hill Rogers Galleries, Southwest School of
Art, San Antonio, Texas (February-March)
2013 THE ORDINARY AND THE EVERYDAY, RE Gallery, Dallas, TX
2013 OUT OF TEXAS, 14 Artists from Texas, Monchskirche, Salzwedel,
Germany
2013 WESTERN SEQUELS, Art from the Lone Star State, TC Mimar Sinan
University, Instanbul, Turkey, catalog
2012 WESTERN SEQUELS, Art from the Lone Star State, The Athens School of
Fine Arts, Athens, Greece, also travelled to Chaves de la rosa Cultural Center, National University of San Agustin, Arequipa, Peru (curated by Gus Kopriva and Alexia Theodoropoulou), catalog
2012 DROP OFF YOUR DROP CLOTH #2 (A survey of Contemporary Texas
Art), Museo de la Nacion, Lima, Peru
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Art Guys, Houston, Texas Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Houston, Texas American State Bank, Lubbock, Texas
The Atelier House, Hilmsen, Germany Marilyn Oshmann, Houston, Texas
Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, Santa Fe, New Mexico Snoop Dogg, California
Ellsworth Kelly, Spencertown, NY Lester Marks, Houston