alexa wheeler

Born in Minnesota and having lived in Pennsylvania, California, Kentucky, New York, Texas and Germany, I draw upon family histories, cultural traditions, and personal experience to explore themes of inheritance, identity, belonging, and resilience.

I received a BFA in Printmaking with Highest Honors from Pratt Institute, completed the Tamarind Master Printer Program, and earned an MFA in Electronic Art with Highest Distinction from the University of New Mexico. I have collaborated with and/or been master printer at numerous print studios, including Pyramid Atlantic Press, Flatbed Press, Jean-Yves Noble Serigraphy, and PaperPress in Germany. Working under my maiden name, Alexa Burns, I am credited as a printer on Richard Serra’s edition Leo in the National Gallery of Art’s records for Leo Castelli’s 90th Birthday Portfolio. My work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in museums, galleries, and artist-run spaces, including the Albuquerque Museum, Harwood Art Center, Pen + Brush Gallery, and contemporary art venues throughout the United States and abroad.

In addition to my studio practice, I am Principal Lecturer III of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico–Valencia, where I teach printmaking, darkroom photography, electronic art, video art, and other interdisciplinary studio practices. My teaching philosophy emphasizes experimentation, accessibility, and the belief that creative practice can serve as a tool for connection, empathy, and transformation.

I am the recipient of a 2025 Fulcrum Fund award supported by 516 ARTS and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for toastlab (together, observe, acknowledge, share, transform), a mobile/pop-up makerspace and community-based art initiative focused on storytelling, collective memory, and creative exchange. Through both my artistic and educational work, I seek to create spaces where individual experiences can be witnessed, shared, and woven into larger conversations about care, history, and what we choose to carry forward.