Découpage featured new work by Oklahoma artist Rebecca Wheeler. Wheeler created non-traditional collages of cloth, lace, clothing, fabric flowers, rhinestones and sequins on linen, ranging in size from 12 by 12 inches to 72 by 60 inches.

The works in Découpage explored memory, nostalgia, femininity and collective history. In cutting and gluing these scraps of fabric, Wheeler both re-enacted the traditionally feminine tasks of embroidery and quilting, and subverted them—she used glue, not thread, and she tore and layered the found objects to form both abstract and recognizable shapes. The stained and torn cloth created views of domestic interiors and landscapes that might seem cliché in more traditional media. Works like Haley’s Comet used clustered strings of rhinestones and beads to depict objects and rudimentary lines and shapes to suggest a landscape. By using these techniques, Wheeler referenced the style of story quilts and outsider art.

Wheeler earned a bachelor’s degree in art education and painting from Oklahoma City University in 1971 and a master of fine arts degree in painting from the University of Oklahoma in 1974. She studied in New York City and in Paris with Elaine de Kooning and Nam June Paik. Wheeler’s work has been exhibited around the country and is held in public and private collections.

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© Untitled [ArtSpace]

Untitled [ArtSpace]
1 NE 3rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Gallery hours: Tues, Wed, Thus: 11am-6pm / Fri: 11am-8pm / Sat: 11am-4pm
Contact: untitledartspace@1ne3.org   T: 405.815.9995   F: 405.813.2070