Summer Wheat exhibition: 'Fruits of Labor'
Thursday, July 3-Monday, Oct. 6
In Fruits of Labor, Summer Wheat (SCAD M.F.A., painting, 2005) presents six richly textured paintings inspired by Greek mythology, animal archetypes, and astrology. A pair of totemic works featuring fruit–animal hybrids are flanked by multiple large-scale paintings that immerse viewers in a lush, harmonious world. In these scenes, Wheat portrays female figures as nurturers and cultivators lounging post-exertion, entwined with animals often associated with fear yet exuding calm and satisfaction. This new series expands Wheat’s practice of depicting women at work to their well-earned luxuriating that follows, insisting that moments of release, repose, and ease after collective effort are worthy of commemoration.
Wheat’s unique process begins with digital sketches, which she transforms into tapestry-like surfaces by piping acrylic paint through wire mesh. This labor-intensive technique yields composite images, embedding stylized characters within patterns, grids, and nets that reference folk traditions, sacred geometry, and digital systems. Inviting viewers to experience a dynamic interplay of depth and flatness, order and intuition, Wheat’s vivid, multilayered paintings are portals into alternate realms where the fruits of labor are fully relished.
Fruits of Labor is organized by SCAD Museum of Art associate curator Brittany Richmond.
About the artist
Summer Wheat (b. 1977, Oklahoma City, Okla.) earned a B.A. from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2000 and an M.F.A. from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2005. Solo exhibitions of her work have been organized at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Mo.; KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, Louisville, Ky.; Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles; Smack Mellon, New York; and Oklahoma Contemporary, Oklahoma City, among others. Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at Harper’s Gallery, New York; Wasserman Projects, Detroit; Gió Marconi, Milan; Kasmin Gallery, New York; Salon 94, New York; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, Mass.; and Torrance Art Museum, Calif. Wheat’s work is held in numerous public and private collections at institutions including the Dallas Museum of Art; de Young Museum, San Francisco; Peréz Art Museum Miami; the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, Seattle; the Mint Museum, Charlotte, N.C.; and the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Ky. She has been honored with the Northern Trust Purchase Prize at EXPO CHICAGO and the New York NADA Artadia Award. Her collaboration with International Architects Atelier, JewelHouse, at the Kansas City Museum is forthcoming in 2027.
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