Jul 28, 20221 min read

Creative Matters with Jim Wheeler

Updated: Jul 28, 2022

Jim Wheeler is a veteran NZ sculptor living in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland.

Jim generally works in cast metals such as bronze, aluminium and iron but also uses concrete, ceramics, plastics, wood, stone and fabric- whatever is appropriate to express his ideas.

His current work is a blend of botany, biology, and beauty. His interest in plants and how plant communities evolve informs his sculptural practice.

Jim has been exhibiting sculpture and drawings since 1979 with eight solo exhibitions and many group shows here and overseas, and is work is held in Museums and galleries in NZ and around the world. In 1989 he became a full time sculptor.

I loved meeting Jim and his wife Bunny today and welcoming them back to Muriwai, the beach that Jim came to on his very first day in NZ 41 years ago! Jim speaks passionately about his 43 year career as a sculptor, the incredibly involved process of bronze sculpture and his fascination for the mange mange fern, the Puriri leaf and the Tanekaha and how the NZ forest and all that lies within inspires so much of his work.