Janet Wheeler

This exhibition features five lithographs and one collograph made between 1973 and 1975, while Wheeler was a master's student at CSU Long Beach. Some of these works portray female bodies as dolls, their limbs rigid and their surroundings depicted as surreal suburban landscapes. Such works seem to comment on the limiting societal expectations of women while advocating for the second wave of the feminist movement, which sought to push against these restrictions. Other works in the exhibition, however, are more abstract in nature, displaying organic forms that highlight the creative freedom granted by printmaking as a medium. These abstract works are almost cellular in nature, containing circular forms and energetic shapes that seem to speak of the forces of nature at the core of all human life, male, or female. Abstract or figural, each of these works reflect Wheeler's talent and provide a unique glimpse into her field of experience.