A retrospective at Woolff Gallery

Not much is known about David Wheeler. The London-born painter, beloved for his cities populated by crowds of people, was quite secretive about his private life. Not that there wasn’t a story to tell. David's life was rich and varied - creative at every moment - which we were fortunate enough to delve into in the run up to this exhibition. Speaking to the Wheeler family, we learnt that painting was a constant passion which proved a pivot in his later life.
Buses and Taxis
These are their words:
“Grandad discovered his passion for art whilst studying at the Christopher Wren School in Hammersmith, West London. He was prevented from pursuing this passion due to economic circumstances, after his father, a master bricklayer, explained the reality that he would have to get a trade under his belt to earn his keep. From the age of 15, he served as a toolmaker’s apprentice, but his artistic abilities quickly took him into the drawing office. There, his talent led him into project management, heading up prestigious design teams for the likes of the Concord, the Harrier Jet and some nuclear power stations. Tired of the rat race of London, he made a decision to head to Cornwall where he was to own and develop a number of hotels. Then, during the late 90s, the realisation that the future of energy production needed to be green led him to work on a number of innovative ideas on energy generation, of which he painted. Unfortunately, due to conservative constraints on investment at the time, none of these came to fruition. It was at this point that he decided to retire form the tourism industry, and he followed his lifelong passion into painting.”

Westminster to St Paul's
Consistently in tune with the wider world, some might say David was a painter of relationships. There is something of L.S. Lowry in his urban landscapes. Populated by thousands of individually-fashioned people, some with different gaits and postures, some wearing red and orange in a sea of grey, all come together in his panoramic snapshots of famous landmarks such as Borough Market, Big Ben and the view of Westminster from the River Thames.
Borough Market, Across the River


“The best thing about David Wheeler for me was the artist-gallery relationship. He was especially open to feedback - that has stuck with me even today.”
Camilla Green, Art Movement
But there is a sense of this in his landscapes too. In his Cornish landscapes, a sheep stands out from the crowd, overseen by a clear, bottle-blue sky. Those of you who know David’s work can attest to his knack for the magical. He almost had a sixth sense, an ingenuity when it came to picturing a place which spoke to everyone, and was always honest to what he felt.

Flock
“Dave had a fundamental understanding of what people knew and loved.”
Nick Woolff
Orange Field

Installing these works together for the first time, we were particularly taken aback by their bold colouring and textured quality. David inherently understood the need for minimal gesture for maximum effect, and ultimately, of deep curiosity for all that painting could do. As Ashleigh Dennis, his granddaughter, notes:
“One of our fondest memories of our Grandad was that he would teach us both to paint. A lot of the time I would say ‘I have no idea what to paint Grandad’ and most of the time his response would be, ‘you don’t have to be a fantastic artist to paint. The paintings don’t have to look like anything, just let your mind take control of the brush. That is what makes everybody unique.’”
Ashleigh Dennis

Wild Flowers
Be it the colours, or brushwork, or the impression of a distant skyline fading into the distance, David was a master at capturing the essence of a place. This autumn, Woolff Gallery is proud to present his retrospective show. We feel honoured to be showing all the remaining works of this prolific artist - don't miss your last, or indeed first, chance to catch his entire catalogue of striking and evocative landscapes: from Tuscany, to Provence, to Cornwall and all the faces of London.
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