Summer Wheat's new pigment-on-panel Maki-e series features slick black surfaces and subtly metallic pigment. Debuted for her 2021 solo exhibition Anything Can Happen, Wheat turned to the Japanese maki-e technique to introduce a textural foil to her signature aluminum mesh paintings. The technique is fitting not only because of the significance of line and drawing throughout Wheat's practice, but also because the material resembles a reflective and glowing computer tablet.

 During a time of heightened virtual connection that leaves us reliant on two-dimensional screens, her maki-e paintings offer reminders of play, storytelling, embodiment, and communication.

In the Toy series, a notion of touch is captured in a child-like sense of play, depicted through hands that fumble imaginatively with toys, trains, and dolls. Wheat's Exercise series evokes past figurative works, and is a continuation of her ongoing focus on wellness.