Late Exposure opens July 7, 2021 at TAG Gallery, 5458 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. TAG is open 1pm-7pm, Wed-Sun
My work is not Photoshopped or edited in any way to add any elements to the imagery. Each image is essentially hand-painted with light during the time of a single opening and shutting of the shutter, as if time has been altered to allow fluid manipulation within the frame. For this reason, this genre is called "light-painting". It's somewhat of a combo of photography and painted art, using long exposure as the vehicle to make it happen. These are generally nighttime exposures, with tools such as acrylic rods, sheets, cubes, and anything else that lights up. I utilize the largest studios in the world, using expansive backdrops of the vast, starry western wilderness, with ready-made sources of beautiful ambient and lunar lighting.
My emphasis is truly about experimentation. I get a rush out of images that have never been done, and that is possible within the realm of long-exposure and light-painting. The opportunities for experimentation are numerous, and I'm essentially on a quest to stay ahead of the curve on what has not been done or seen.
My underlying theme encompasses a study of man’s interaction with nature. Every image asks a similar question to the viewer. Can man collaborate with nature without diminishing its astonishing beauty.
About the Artist:Thomas Wheeler is an emerging artist in respect to gallery work, but has been passionate about photography in some form or another since childhood. His first photo art class was in 1987 at Stanford University and later took courses at UCLA Extension, Otis College of Art and Design, and Santa Monica College (Photojournalism with the Corsair Weekly and Large Format studio work).
About the Gallery: TAG is a fine art gallery located on Museum Row in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1993, the gallery represents award-winning contemporary Southern California artists working in all mediums and styles.