© 2025 88.9 KETR
Public Radio for Northeast Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

University Gallery Hosting Wheeler Brothers’ Traveling Exhibition

Safe Paysage, an acrylic, charcoal, and collage on board piece by Jeff and Bryan Wheeler. The gallery will be open 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. weekdays through Feb. 28.
Safe Paysage, an acrylic, charcoal, and collage on board piece by Jeff and Bryan Wheeler. The gallery will be open 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. weekdays through Feb. 28.

The opening reception for "Novel Toys, Tricks, and Games" will run from 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

The University Gallery at East Texas A&M University is pleased to announce “Novel Toys, Tricks, and Games,” a traveling exhibition by Texas art scene vets, the Wheeler Brothers.

The exhibition will be on view from January 15 through February 28 in the University Gallery located at 2005 University Dr. in Commerce, TX. The Wheeler Brothers will be in attendance at the opening reception on Wednesday, January 15, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. and will do a gallery talk at 6 p.m. The gallery is open weekly, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.– 5 p.m. and by appointment.

“Novel Toys, Tricks, and Games” offers a fresh look at the Wheeler Brothers' often humorous and sometimes acerbic reflections on the ethos and patho(logie)s of our moment. The exhibition offers a varied selection of their individual works as well as collaborative drawings and paintings between the brothers.

About the Artists

Originally from the panhandle of West Texas, the Wheeler Brothers (Jeff and Bryan) emerged on the Texas art scene in the late 1990s with their “meta-regionalist,” irreverent, and genre-bending paintings, drawings, sculptures and music. Since then, they have become fixtures, regularly exhibiting and curating exhibitions across the state, nationally and internationally. They have also collaborated with many of the biggest names in Texas art. Many will recognize them through “Ulterior Motifs,” a series of ongoing exhibitions/happenings they have organized since the early 2000s that have featured Texas art legends such as (among many others) James Surls, Lucas Johnson, Sharon Kopriva and The Art Guys.

Currently, Jeff lives and works in San Antonio, where, in addition to creating public murals and the works seen here, he is the founder and director of C7 Gallery and co-founder and curator of the Echo Bridge Concert Series. Bryan maintains his studio in Lubbock, where he also records and produces music with his band, Los Sonsabitches, and is a lecturer at Texas Tech University.

About East Texas A&M University Art Galleries

The East Texas A&M Department of Art reserves the University Gallery, located on the first floor of the Art Building, for exhibitions featuring artworks by ETAMU students as well as nationally and internationally recognized artists and designers. The gallery also hosts graduate critiques, thesis reviews and the Annual Juried Student Art Show held every spring.

Additional galleries include the Wathena Temple Project Space, located on the second floor of the Wathena Temple Fine Arts Building, and the President's Gallery, located on the second floor of the McDowell Administration Building across from room 295. These two galleries feature solo and group exhibitions created by currently enrolled ETAMU students.

Melynda Seaton is a native Texan, but she grew up in a tiny town in northeastern New Mexico. She initially wanted to be a photographer, but after being introduced to art history while attending West Texas A&M University, Melynda was hooked. Her research interests continued to involve photography but have expanded to include contemporary art, in particular, that of Native American artists. Melynda has a background in curatorial work and enjoys engaging directly with artists in her projects. Before moving back home to Texas in 2019 to begin working at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Melynda was the Curator of Photography at History Colorado as well as the Director and Curator of the Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska.