Pete Wheeler
Encyclopedia
Pete Wheeler is an artist, currently living and working in Berlin
, Germany
.
Wheeler lived in Dunedin
during the late 1990s and early 2000s, graduating with a BFA from the Otago Polytechnic
's School of Fine Art in 2000. Since graduating he has held 16 solo shows in New Zealand, Australia, America and Europe.
Death, time and the shadow of history are recurring themes in Wheeler's art. The artist habitually strips these to their bare essentials, often adding words or simple slogans, so as to both capture and mock their essence.
Wheeler's paintings have always displayed an introspection, and a sense of social responsibility in relation to political situations. Many of the more controversial and confrontational images used derive from the rise of Nazi
Germany and recent Islamic fundamentalism
. These works express a deliberate social conscience with an internationalist perception.
Wheeler's next exhibition will be as part of the three-man show "Gallery Mittwoch" at Kolektiv Berlin in April 2008
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Wheeler lived in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
during the late 1990s and early 2000s, graduating with a BFA from the Otago Polytechnic
Otago Polytechnic
The Otago Polytechnic is a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with campuses throughout the region of Otago including Cromwell, Wanaka and Queenstown....
's School of Fine Art in 2000. Since graduating he has held 16 solo shows in New Zealand, Australia, America and Europe.
Art
Wheeler's paintings forcefully display social responsibility in relation to political situations. Often using controversial and confrontational images, his work is both powerful and relevant. His images are both playful and aggressive, frequently using images taken from political propaganda and mass media as a basis for the venting of his frustration at the public acceptance of these manipulative political and marketing images at face value. At the same time he argues that the representation of an image is no other than marks on a surface.Death, time and the shadow of history are recurring themes in Wheeler's art. The artist habitually strips these to their bare essentials, often adding words or simple slogans, so as to both capture and mock their essence.
Wheeler's paintings have always displayed an introspection, and a sense of social responsibility in relation to political situations. Many of the more controversial and confrontational images used derive from the rise of Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Germany and recent Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
. These works express a deliberate social conscience with an internationalist perception.
Solo Shows
- 2000 Emerging Artist 2000, Centre of Contemporary Art, ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand - 2001 Ill Strokes, High Street Project, Christchurch, New Zealand
- 2002 Disarticulated 2, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch, New Zealand
- 2003 The Words of Wisdom are Heard in Quite, Timaru Public Art Gallery, TimaruTimaruTimaruUrban AreaPopulation:27,200Extent:Former Timaru City CouncilTerritorial AuthorityName:Timaru District CouncilPopulation:42,867 Land area:2,736.54 km² Mayor:Janie AnnearWebsite:...
, New Zealand, and Milford Galleries, DunedinDunedinDunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand - 2004 We will Shine Like Stars in the Summer Night, The Arthouse, Christchurch, New Zealand
- 2004 I Went Looking for One Good Man, Whitespace, AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
- 2004 Night of the Long Knives, Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand
- 2005 Citizen Artist, The Arthouse Christchurch, New Zealand
- 2005 Vitamin P, Mark Wolley Gallery, PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States - 2006 Don't Believe the Hype, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
- 2006 Home Before Dark, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2007 History Will be Kind to Me, Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
- 2007 Losing the War on Images, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2007 Run Like Hell, Kolektiv Berlin, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Wheeler's next exhibition will be as part of the three-man show "Gallery Mittwoch" at Kolektiv Berlin in April 2008
Art fairs
- 2004 SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
International art fair, Australia - 2005 GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
International art fair, Scotland