The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit “Plein Air” by Jim Rehak

On view from May 3-31, 2019
Free opening reception on Friday, May 3 at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (April 23, 2019) – Plein Air, an exhibition of local landscape paintings by Jim Rehak, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from May 3-31, 2019. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, May 3 from 5-7 p.m.

“Plein air” painting is the act of painting outdoors and is a style associated with 19th century French Impressionists. Plein air painters work outdoors to capture landscapes and views in natural light. Rehak chooses his locations to paint by looking for patterns of light, contrast, and color composition. The exhibition will feature more than 20 oil paintings that depict the Brandywine River, New Castle, Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and other locations across the Delmarva Peninsula in various seasons.

Rehak describes painting outdoors as a learning experience with light as the teacher.

“Changing light requires a flexible and spontaneous response as I learn to see the colors in nature. My final interpretation is the result of past experience combined with the specific experiences offered by nature…including sun, wind and rain,” he said.

Visitors to the Gallery should enter via the courtyard doors on French Street and take the elevators to the Mezzanine level due to renovations in the building. The Gallery will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 27.

Learn more about Rehak with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

Image: Cape Morn, 2017, oil on canvas, 12″ x 24″

The Mezzanine Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.


The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit “Painting with Wood” by Robert Bruce Weston

On view from April 5-26, 2019
Free opening reception on Friday, April 5 at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (April 1, 2019) – Painting with Wood, an exhibition of “wood veneer paintings” by Robert Bruce Weston, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from April 5-26, 2019. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, April 5 from 5-7 p.m.

Weston draws from his vast experience with wood when creating his art. He is a retired cabinetmaker with over 30 years of experience. During that time, he became a collector of exotic and domestic wood veneers. A veneer is a very thin slice of wood (usually less than 1/8 inch) prized for its decorative surface. Weston’s creative process is inspired by the patterns in the wood veneers.

In some cases, the patterns in a wood veneer dictate the subject matter of Weston’s “painting.” He also recreates landscapes using wood veneers to translate the forms and shapes of the scene. The pieces are then cut by hand, taped together, glued to a substrate, and sanded. Weston prefers the natural color of the wood and doesn’t use stain. To add color for grass and sky, he uses oil pastels to tint the wood. Weston then applies 6 coats of lacquer and 2 coats of wax to highlight the beauty of the wood and enhance the surface. Each work is framed with a custom-designed frame made by Weston.

Visitors to the Gallery should enter via the courtyard doors on French Street and take the elevators to the Mezzanine level due to renovations in the building. The Gallery will be closed for Good Friday on Friday, April 19.

Learn more about Weston with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series. Image: “The Point,” 2017, wood veneer, 19″ x 30″ (courtesy of The Wright Collection)

The Mezzanine Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.


The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit “Established Color” a Painting Exhibit by Thomas Del Porte

 

On view from September 7-28, 2018
Free opening reception on Friday, September 7 at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (August 28, 2018) – Established Color, an exhibition of paintings by Thomas Del Porte, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from September 7-28, 2018. Del Porte received a 2018 Fellowship Visual Arts: Painting. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, September 7 from 5-7 p.m.

The exhibition will feature Del Porte’s still life paintings and landscapes. In his work, Del Porte intends to tell a visual story within each stroke of paint. His paintings are made with little jeweled, thorn-like curls, each stroke acting as an individual recording of a moment in time.

Del Porte explains, “I paint from direct observation, in the attempt to capture a unique portion of the infinite gifts of light, line, color and spaces that nature provides. My goal is to communicate a visual quality that reveals something new within the movement and drama of the images I translate.”

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. Image: Winning Cup, oil, 2018, 24” x 24”

Learn more about Del Porte with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

The Mezzanine Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and  is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.


The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit “Trace” by Carlos Alejandro

On view from June 1-29, 2018
Free opening reception on Friday, June 1 at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (May 24, 2018) – Carlos Alejandro’s Trace, an exhibition of black and white fine art photography, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from June 1-29, 2018. A free opening reception to meet the artist will be held on Friday, June 1 from 5-7 p.m.

The subjects in the photographs range from delicate ghost ferns to scenes from Cuba to religious artifacts. The unifying theme is an interest in capturing traces of history, intuition, influence, artifacts, paths, and vestiges.

Alejandro explains, “So many moments, things, places, people, paths—that are gossamer, ethereal, fading, forgotten and on the crest of being forever lost—are what continues to wrest my interest and creativity into expressing the importance of our ephemeral humanity.”

The images are captured on a digital camera but printed in analog materials like palladium and other elements. A number of the photographs will be displayed in vintage frames that Alejandro has purchased at auction. Trace is Alejandro’s first solo exhibition of fine art photography in Delaware since the 1990s.

Learn more about Alejandro with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

The Mezzanine Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and  is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

Image: Barbero de Santiago, 14″ x 18″, Palladium print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 2017

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.


 


The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit “Alexi Natchev: Prints and Drawings”

On view from April 6-27, 2018
Free opening reception on Friday, April 6 at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (April 27, 2018) – Alexi Natchev, an internationally renowned artist, will show works that are a departure from his celebrated book illustrations. Some of the works were created in his native Bulgaria and are being exhibited for the first time in the U.S. The works in this show are a reflection of his experiments with various printmaking, drawing, painting and collage approaches, mixing media, materials and surfaces.

He explains, “In different visual vocabulary the artwork contemplates the same consistent themes and subject matters – the connection with the past and the unity with our surroundings, which are the focus of my artistic interest throughout the years.” Natchev is the recipient of a 2001 Delaware Established Fellowship in Works on Paper and is on the faculty of the Delaware College of Art and Design in Wilmington.

Learn more about Natchev with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

The Mezzanine Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and  is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov


The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.