GAGE MICHAEL WHEATLEY

MONTREAL, QC, CANADA

A Montreal-based artist and writer with a background in Classics and Art History. Gage Michael Wheatley's queer-ecological work in ceramics, poetry, and photography is a self-taught exploration of nostalgia, kitsch, and emotion.

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CERAMICS

Through a process of physical and conceptual world-building, Gage's ceramic practice explores the intersections of queer identity, ecological inquiry, and the aesthetics of folk and kitsch. His forms are defined by an appreciation for the handmade and the familiar, reclaiming these aesthetics as a sophisticated language for expressing complex ideas. Through tactile and deeply personal objects, he creates a space for contemplation and emotional grounding in a world marked by flux. His work is a meditation on resilience, transforming raw earth into a tangible expression of queer presence and a thoughtful response to our relationship with the natural world.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Driven by an open and receptive engagement with his surroundings, Gage’s photography practice is a form of unconscious scanning. Rather than a calculated search for a specific image, his work emerges from chance encounters and quiet moments. These images serve as a personal archive of introspection, capturing the lush and vibrant scenes of the natural world and the liminal spaces we inhabit.

Through a nostalgic lens, he is drawn to the subtle narratives of daily life and the soft, introspective moments found in nature hiking. His photographs are an ode to the beauty of the overlooked and the serenity of the present, inviting viewers to pause and find a sense of calm in a world of constant motion. It is a meditation on the delicate balance between external landscapes and our internal sense of place.

POETRY

Writing from a place of queer observation, Gage's poetry practice is a deeply embodied and ecopoetic inquiry into the world, weaving together narratives that are both personal and universal. His work often takes an essayistic and referential form, allowing him to incorporate direct quotes from seemingly disparate sources and create new meaning from chance encounters.

His poems live adjacent to other artistic mediums, creating a dialogue between language and the visual world.

WORKSHOPS

Link to current workshops I’m teaching.

Publications & Exhibitions / 2025: "In These Quiet Hours," 8 photo series - carte blanche (forthcoming) / "Reading Nature," featured poet and solo ceramic show preview of Votives and Vases at Pulp / 2024: "Metamorphosis," 4 photo series - LBRNTH / “Corona Borealis” - Headlight Anthology / “I Give Myself to Him Daily” - Headlight Anthology / "Inheritance: Acknowledging our place in a more-than-human world," 8 photo series - Montreal Serai / 2023: THORNY/thorns chapbook with Meryem Yildiz / “Accent Open Mic” featured poet / “In a Room Full of Taxidermy” - Contemporary Verse 2 / “Daisy Chain” - Contemporary Verse 2 / 2022: “Les aveugles” - Shortlisted: Vallum 2022 Poetry Prize / “Folklore Dendrology” - Yolk Literary Magazine / “Bottgersteinzeug” - Tabula Rasa Review / “The Night Bus” - Literature Undressed