Leah Dixon's 'Tartan Tartana' Reimagines the Wheel's Inventor at Spiritvessel

Leah Dixon's solo exhibition 'Tartan Tartana' is on view at Spiritvessel in Espinavessa, Girona, Spain, from June 6 to September 12, 2026. Curated by Sira Pizà, the show centers on the sculpture 'TARTAN TARTANA: The Girl Who Invented The Wheel IV,' which features molded sawdust and resin clay onions—the vegetable that, in Dixon's five-page origin story, is associated with a prehistoric woman who invents the wheel. The narrative reimagines the wheel's invention as a domestic, female-driven act rather than a male military one. The exhibition also includes 'Megalithic Fireworks Portals,' an outdoor sculpture of aluminum pipe and a plastic bucket suspended from a wood and enamel structure. Dixon's work explores themes of acceleration, time, and the interconnectedness of invention, drawing on references from Paul Virilio and archaeologist Eva Rosenstock. The show is presented in a village setting that resonates with the artist's story, and the title 'Tartana' refers to an ancient two-wheeled carriage in Spanish and Catalan. Dixon is a New York-based sculptor known for her modular geometry and personal color science, and she is the founder of BEVERLY'S, a bar and social architecture project in Lower Manhattan.