Alex Wilhite

c4fc343a9abd3b61441ffebc714ef643.jpg

Koi/Jupiter/Full Moon, 2016

Oil & encaustic on round wood


1516361871119.jpg

Artist, Alex Wilhite born Deaf. Enrolled the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis to learn how to speak and lip reading until 19 years old started ASL.  Discovered to be an artist at the art class at the age of 5 years past. Lived and educated at overseas to the Middle East in Kuwait. Attended National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York and Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Awarded B.F.A. studio art from the University of North Alabama and M.F.A. Painting,
Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, New York.

From my experience as a deaf artist have had communication barrier, oppression, and colonialism, but have had resistance and overcome through visiting/working art classes, galleries, and museums. I have no trouble communication through straight-forwarded messages along with my new works. Use American Sign Language (ASL) in fluently. Researched and study in varied of mediums in the making from raw materials to create the rich medium. I discovered that encaustic work that is one of the most exciting challenged my work and me. I have the network with bees farm for purchasing the bulk of raw beeswax and working into the encaustic medium. Studying the melting points for working with beeswax and damar resin as data experiments. I collect natural pigments from the stone to the earth materials from all over the world through geologist and pigment suppliers. This medium is most exciting ever I have done by continue experiment. Wild Bees love to fly into my studio for smelling the wax. No fear of the bees! Learn how to be calm and set them free.I have had several positive responses to my working processing as anencaustic artist that I started May 2015. I fell in love working that medium because it is the very best challenge that has lost since Roman/Egypt Period.  Jasper John is my hero artist of the 21st- century art history.

Plan to continue to explore as the new encaustic and cold wax medium to do new works.  Had group exhibited called “World Heard by Soul” at Smolny Museum at St. Petersburg, Russia and Moscow, Russia in 2013-2014? Participated a group exhibition called “Edges Encaustic Show,” Morpho Gallery, Chicago that was my recent exhibition that was my most challenged exhibition August 2015. Also participated a group called “Global Warm is Real” at the Museum of Encaustic Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which collects one of my work, “Melting Arctic” as permanent collection Summer 2017. Artist in Residency at Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont and Austine School for the Deaf, Brattleboro, Vermont 2002.