Avery Wheless

“Stage, presence”

Stand in the light;

Curious if you like what you see?

Stay aloof, look through, not directly at — this distance keeps me here.

Afraid I’m not as brave as I was before.

A preview, scroll through and watch things unfold in real time.

— follow along to see how far it goes.

Passion is an accumulation.

Let it play out.

The performers aren't fully formed, their shapes remain hazy,

some things may never get sorted.

I break into pieces, slip through your fingers.

A way out of myself, my body no longer as self contained.

Always a push and pull.

When it's over

the curtain will fall and I’ll know by the fullness of your silence.

An unidentifiable puncture — a hole in the shape of you.

Unsure of what came before or after,

My memories don’t stay the same.

Holding it all both heavy and weightless — absurd beauty.  

The lights inevitably turn back on and I'll reappear.

Do you see me now?

Take a bow.

Always wanting more.

    BOZOMAG is pleased to announce “Stage, Presence”, an exhibition of new works by Avery Wheless. The show will open at a private residence on April 6th, with a reception to be held that same day, Saturday, April 6th from 5-8pm. The exhibition will be on view thru May 11th, by appointment.

    Avery Wheless is a multidisciplinary art raised in Petaluma, California. The vivid hues depicted in her paintings radiate with the hypnotic phosphorescence of tangible, elegant, cerebral chaos. This ecstatic expulsion of gestural figuration and abstraction alike is simultaneously inspired from a past life of rigorous ballet training, as well as her experience in plein-air painting while immersed within a group of veteran, Bay Area Figurative painters as a teenager.     

    On these aforementioned excursions, Wheless became familiarized with the use of spontaneity as a tool to depict emotion. Completing her education at the Rhode Island School of Design, Wheless’ expressionistic style of mark-making mimics that of a siren — the viewer becomes enraptured in a turbulent, ebb and flow of liquidity, rivaling the coastal towns Wheless inhabited.

    “Stage, Presence” exists as an annihilation and obliteration of ones’ former self as an attempt to forage inner peace. Inspired by the spectacle of dance and her families’ history participating in competitive pageantry, Wheless examines ideas of self-surveillance and the performance inherent in the trappings of femininity. While in a constant state of hyper-awareness, an inner saboteur with an omnipresent capacity for cruelty lives to undermine and critique. Wheless grapples with her role as a conduit for artistic energy while stifling these anachronistic, societal projections.   

    In the essay “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger presents a hypothesis: Women are socialized to view themselves as vestibules of male desire from an early age, thus ultimately metastasizing two inner psychological voices. One exists as the “surveyor” and another, the “surveyed”, as these two dichotomous monologues co-mingle within.

    “Stage, Presence” coyly alludes to notions of existence as the ultimate proverbial stage, while concurrently juxtaposing notions of “presence” as differentiating physical, emotional, and psychological states. By implementing dynamic abstractionist portraiture laden with innuendo amongst portrayals of “girlhood” — Wheless invites the viewer into vignettes of the world, according to her. Decadent parties in states of transition cohabitate with analytical moments of intimacy that ooze with alluring double entendres. These works invite an audience to observe themselves through existential channels that may seem foreign, but remain universal.     

    Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1993, and raised in Petaluma, CA, Avery Wheless received a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Wheless had her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, “So does everybody else” debuted at Rusha & Co. in 2023. Her work has also been exhibited at The Pit, Los Angeles, CA; Ochi Gallery, Sun Valley, ID; Superzoom, Paris, FR; Christie’s UNICEF Auction, Los Angeles, CA; Sow and Tailor/K11 Musea, Hong Kong; G/ART/EN Gallery, Como, Italy; and “Suggested Followers” curated by Jerry Gagosian at Sotheby’s, NY.

    “Stage, Presence” will be on view thru May 11th. The exhibition will be on view by appointment. Please contact info@bozomag.com for address and to schedule a visit. We look forward to seeing you.

AUTRE MAGAZINE INTERVIEW