Justin Wheatley - Artist: January 2010

The show is almost here, so I thought I might post a few more images of the work that will be there. To see the rest, you'll just have to go to Art Access and take a look. Or wait until I post those images as well.

The title of the show is "House. Home." The individual works are titled with a word that describes something that affects who we become as we are raised in a house or home and the address of where the house actually is.

Here's the official artist statement:
I have always been interested in architecture. What intrigues me most is the geometry. It is fascinating to see cities and suburbs of harsh lines and shapes stacked and spread into an organic space.

We seek shelter in those shapes. What happens inside of them defines and molds us.

I teach high school. All three grades. After four years I have had over a thousand students. Each day when school is over, they return to their place of shelter.

As I become acquainted with my students, I become acquainted with who they are. They are all incredibly different.

When talking to them, I am careful about what I say. There is no mention of parents until I am sure they have them. No asking for payment of fees until I know they can. No asking about Halloween until I know they celebrate.

Knowing so many young people has often led my mind into tangents about what goes on behind the brick and stucco. There are layers. Not only of paint, but of people.

Those layers affect who each of these people are. They will add their own layers of similitude, rebellion, experience, joy, memory, etc.

My work is about those layers.