Wiley Wallace’s paintings seem to exist in the few seconds between waking and remembering what was real. Children wander through barren landscapes, glowing geometric forms hover in the air, skeletons appear as companions or warnings, and enormous storms seem charged with something far stranger than electricity. Rendered with remarkable realism, these scenes feel familiar enough to enter, yet mysterious enough to make us wonder what rules govern the worlds beyond them. Born and raised in Arizona, Wallace studied inter-media arts at Arizona State University before earning his MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He now teaches at South Mountain Community College while continuing to develop a body of work that blends meticulous figurative painting with surreal, metaphysical imagery. His surroundings also seem to leave their mark: rocky desert terrain, enormous skies, and isolated landscapes repeatedly become stages for encounters with the unexplained.

Children are especially important within Wallace’s work, and he often uses photographs of his own family as references. Against these carefully rendered figures, he introduces glowing skeletons, strange portals, radiant strands of energy, impossible clouds, and geometric objects that seem to have arrived from beyond the visible world. The contrast gives his paintings a distinctive tension between innocence and unease, with scenes that can feel playful one moment and quietly ominous the next. Rather than explaining exactly what is happening, Wallace leaves his narratives deliberately open. His characters often appear to be discovering, communicating with, or simply observing something they cannot fully understand. That ambiguity allows the paintings to hover between science fiction, childhood imagination, dreams, and something almost supernatural. Their neon glow even carries a touch of nostalgic extraterrestrial cinema, though Wallace’s worlds can just as easily drift toward darker, more dystopian interpretations.

Scroll down to enter Wallace’s strange, luminous universe, but don’t expect it to explain itself.

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#1 “Collectors”

Acrylic on panel, 2021

#2 “Exit”

Acrylic on panel, 2022

#3 “Reflection”

Acrylic on panel, 2024

#4 “Distractions”

Acrylic on panel, 2019

#5 “Looking Up”

Acrylic on cradled wood, 2025

Acrylic on panel, 2024

#27 “Going In”

Acrylic on panel, 2024

Acrylic on panel, 2021

#41 “Voyage”

Acrylic on panel, 2022

#42 “Escape From Reality”

Acrylic on panel, 2026

#43 “Zombie Cat Attack 2”

Acrylic on cat-shaped panel

38 Surreal Paintings By Wiley Wallace That Feel Like Glimpses Into Alternate Realities

#1 “Collectors”

#2 “Exit”

#3 “Reflection”

#4 “Distractions”

#5 “Looking Up”

#6 Unnamed

#7 “Night Bloom”

#8 “Separation”

#9 “Please Wait”

#10 “End Together”

#11 “Holding On”

#12 “Narrow Escape”

#13 “Visions”

#14 “Woven Trail”

#15 “Carry With”

#16 “Through”

#17 “Drifting”

#18 “Floating Projections”

#19 “Guided”

#20 “Gleaming Connection”

#21 “Juniper”

#22 “Seeking”

#23 “Reflection”

#24 “Narrow Embrace”

#25 “Fellow”

#26 “Going Away”

#27 “Going In”

#28 “Impossible Call”

#29 “Star Dust”

#30 “Dream Together”

#31 “Zombie Cat Attack 1”

#32 “Creation”

#33 “Ice Cave”

#34 “Holds”

#35 “Waves”

#36 “Sharing”

#37 “Searching”

#38 “Night Light”

#39 “Spectrum Embrace”

#40 “Fragile Loop”

#41 “Voyage”

#42 “Escape From Reality”

#43 “Zombie Cat Attack 2”