On view from September 2-23, 2022

Wilmington, Del. (August 24, 2022) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents 2022 DDOA Individual Artist Fellow Kiara Florez’s exhibition, Inner Reflections, running September 2-23, 2022. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception on Friday, September 9, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Painter Kiara Florez was always involved in “artistic endeavors.” As a child she wanted to be a writer, “creating characters and worlds that didn’t exist” and writing stories while drawing her ideas. It was in high school – at age 16 – that Florez turned seriously to visual art. As she learned the fundamentals and explored a variety of media, she came to painting and discovered her style and artistic process. Her works, primarily paint on canvases, use acrylics to mix the primary colors together. She uses only one paintbrush as she lets the painting come to life through an intuitive process. “I often meditate to music or be surrounded by nature to find a visual for the messages and/or emotions I am trying to convey,” says Florez. “My progression of each work is loosely based on jumbles of my thoughts and feelings at the time, so there are moments where the painting can take an unexpected turn. In the end, there is always a personal and spiritual message within each work in this series.”

Based on intuition, her works begin with a faint idea of “how I want the painting to come to life.” But that process is often challenging. Since a work in progress can “change form and go in any direction it pleases,” it can require her to overpaint or even begin again. But while each work springs from a personal message, she leaves any “interpretation and analysis” up to her viewers and is especially gratified when her paintings “speak not just to the mind, but to the soul as well.”

A recent graduate of Delaware State University with a B.A. in studio art, Florez has already been seen in several exhibitions, was the Delaware winner of the 2017 Doodle4Google competition, and has had her work on view at the U.S. Capitol. Her imaginative paintings magically merge the figurative and the abstract, always informed by “nature, music, all forms of art, and dreams.”

The collection that garnered her the Division’s Fellowship is a series of acrylic paintings on canvas, colorful narratives that “explore spiritual thinking and imaginative worlds, using bold colors and wavy lines.” Both figural and abstract, her works are populated with exaggerated shapes in a vibrant color palette, a “loose interpretation of the human figure and nature” that carry Florez’ personal, spiritual messages.

Florez describes her inspiration as an artist: “This collection of paintings explores spiritual thinking and imaginative worlds, using bold colors and wavy lines to express those concepts. I let the colors connect with each other and let them dance across the canvas. The forms and shapes are highly exaggerated and appear in abstract form. Many of my works often human-like beings interacting with landscapes or other beings. The figures may not always have facial or a full body. They may be placed above a natural landscape, floating above mountains or standing tall in the sky. I create openly interpretive paintings for viewers even if there is a personal meaning behind it.” 

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

Image: “Stuck in a Daze” (2021) Acrylic painting, 30x40in

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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications

302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@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.

On view from August 5-26, 2022

Wilmington, Del. (July 29, 2022) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents 2022 DDOA Individual Artist Fellow Katie West’s exhibition, Jamaican Journey, running August 5-26, 2022. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception on Friday, August 5, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Travel to Jamaica with a collection of photographs depicting the rich culture and color from across the island – including landscapes, seascapes, flowers, people, and architecture. You’ll find yourself gliding gently down the Rio Grande River in Portland Parish, Jamaica, on a bamboo raft, powered and steered by a young Jamaican man using only a bamboo pole. A drive in the country yields an assortment of brightly painted buildings, as well as beautiful vistas of the green mountains and rivers. Take a walk along Negril’s 7-mile beach and cliffs to observe the sea, beach vendors, tropical flowers, and stunning sunsets. “Capturing life in all its forms on this beautiful island is my passion,” says West.

West describes her evolution as an artist: “I spent most of my working life involved in the arts – dancing professionally, teaching dance, and working in arts administration and grantmaking. As a child in upstate New York, I learned about photography from my father, an amateur photographer, but did not pursue it professionally until 2019, when I retired and decided to focus on travel, wandering, and photographing the sights and people along the way.”

In the two years since her first invitation to exhibit during the summer of 2020, West’s photos have been accepted into 6 juried in-person exhibitions, 12 international online shows, and two solo exhibits. Her works are now in several private collections; five of her black & white images of Delaware hang in the Marketplace on the Mezzanine (2^nd floor) of the Carvel State Office Building in Wilmington, and in 2022 she received an Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts.

“When I travel, or just take a walk at home, I always have my camera in hand to capture the multitude of unique images I see,” West recounted. “ Many photos end up in the trash bin, but when editing, I look for images that tell a story about a place or culture, or evoke a particular feeling. The theme of this exhibit, Jamaica, is close to my heart.  I began visiting the island more than 30 years ago and fell in love with the culture and environs. However, I also love to travel to other locales. My website, www.katiewestphoto.com, features images from Greece and Costa Rica, as well as my beautiful adopted state of Delaware, which I focused on capturing during the early days of the pandemic when travel was not possible.”

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

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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications

302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@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.

On view from July 1-29, 2022

Wilmington, Del. (July 5, 2022) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents artist Forest Allread’s exhibition, Smorgasbord, running July 1 through 29, 2022. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception to be held Friday, July 8, from 5-7 p.m. as part of Art Loop Wilmington. 

“Visual art can provoke a viewer to encounter something strikingly raw and new,” says Allread. “Much like a wild animal revealing itself through a thicket of brush, this can sometimes be startling and mesmerizing at the same time.”

Allread may hope that Smorgasbord evokes those same feelings for its viewers. It is an exhibit of large-scale, mixed media paintings and small works employing digital illustration, photography, and animation techniques, and “…created through a mode of improvisation, head-scratching, and an insatiable appetite for painting playfully,” he says. 

Allread describes the work: “I like to think that each work feels ‘alive’ based on how it came to be.” In his works, Allread says he tries to utilize tactics that stop a viewer in their tracks and asks them to remain intimately connected. The artist has created imagery that seemingly shape-shifts into its own development, each piece showcasing its own trajectory to completion. Regions within the paintings are caked in layers of materials while other pockets remain unfinished. They invite the viewer to meander about surface textures, brush strokes, and unexpected pops of color. 

Normally used to label a buffet of foods or wide variety of something, Smorgasbord seems an apt description for Allread’s exhibit. “I’ve cooked up a variety of ingredients and churned out each work of art for Smorgasbord,” he says, “so feast your eyes upon it and indulge in the pleasure of viewing!”

“Painting for me is serious-fun,” says Allread. “A musical — and at times amusing — act of risk and play that never fails to provide for unexpected, delightful results.”

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

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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications
302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@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.

On view from June 3-24, 2022

Wilmington, Del. (June 1, 2022) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents artist Samara Weaver’s exhibition, Explorations Through Materiality, running June 3 through 24, 2022. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception to be held Friday, June 3, from 5-7 p.m. as part of Art Loop Wilmington. 

Samara Weaver is an artist and maker of multi-dimensional, multi-media pieces of contemporary artwork, sculpture, ceramics, and porcelain jewelry. In addition to watercolors, she often incorporates natural materials like paper and wood into her creations. Her works are vivid in color, rich in texture, and alluringly tactile — quite inviting to the viewer to reach out and touch.  In fact, Weaver agrees her work often invites touch and asks the observer to explore it further with multiple senses.—-

Weaver received her Masters in Architecture in 2013 from Tyler School of Art and Architecture. After graduating, she worked in the architecture and construction fields, while continuing to develop her unique artistic voice. In 2017, she launched her own business, Design Hues, specializing in artisan florals and large floral installations.

She was accepted into the Juried Craft Show at the Delaware Art Museum in 2018. This marked a pivotal point in her artistic career, prompting her to fully shift her focus to art. In Spring 2020, she acquired a studio at The Delaware Contemporary, and since that time, has been creating and selling her artwork, functional ceramics, and porcelain jewelry as a full-time career.

Her upcoming exhibition, Explorations Through Materiality, will feature that rich variety of media. Weaver’s exhibition focuses on, among other media, her reflections of nature through layered paper works, using local sites and experiences as inspiration.

“I immerse myself in each medium, exploring different properties, effects, and methods as I work,” Weaver says. “I’ve always been fascinated with materiality, resulting in my exploration of texture, color, and perspective within each of my creative materials.”

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

Image Calm 2 (2021); trace paper, watercolor, MDF, wood; 10” h x 10” w.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Community Engagement
302-577-8282, 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.

On view from May 6-30, 2022

Wilmington, Del. (April 28, 2022) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents artist Gail Husch’s exhibition, Characters, running May 6 through 30, 2022. Her exhibit will also be part of Art Loop Wilmington — the monthly self-guided tour of art in and around the city. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception to be held Friday, May 6, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. 

A sculptor of whimsical figures and forms, Husch has been named a 2022 DDOA Emerging Artist Fellow in the Visual Arts discipline of Crafts.

After growing up in New Hampshire, Husch attended the University of South Florida, earning a BA in Art Education. She then moved on to Amherst College in Massachusetts for a Masters in Art History. In 1984, she and her husband made the trek to Delaware, where she pursued a PhD in Art History at the University of Delaware. She’s been a “Delawarean” ever since. Husch also taught art history at Goucher College near Baltimore from 1989 until her retirement in 2017.

Her imaginative creations are primarily small clay people who, as Husch describes, “…teeter on the edge of the ridiculous without losing their humanity.” Her figures are heavily inspired by literature and history, and by people she encounters or finds in pictures.

“…a smorgasbord of body shapes and movements, facial structures, and expressions,” Husch says. “I find characters from literature (especially Charles Dickens) and earlier historical periods especially compelling.”

Her love of this distinctive medium came one day over 40 years ago in a ceramics course that emphasized abstract vessels and forms. “I played with a lump of clay that turned into the crude figure of a woman in a bustled dress,” she recalls. “I was exhilarated by the transformation of malleable earth into a creature with its own expressive life.”

In her work, she favors such subjects that invite exaggeration in expression and pose. She’s drawn to the foolish and the extreme, and to characters who remind us that we might not see ourselves as others do.

“I gain immense satisfaction when I manage to achieve the right expression on a figure’s face, the right attitude of its body. It might take five, ten or twenty tries before the curl of a mouth, the flare of a nostril, or the tilt of a torso conveys something I intended. Each piece is the result of an immersive process of discovery.”

This exhibit not only features her small ceramic figures of literary and historical subjects, but also selections from a 32-piece chess set — a king, a queen, a bishop, a knight, two rooks, and two pawns — which she created in 2019. All the sculptures are stoneware; those in white clay have a black underglaze; acrylic paint adds color to the red and white clay figures.

The chess pieces are of particular curiosity; does she enjoy a good game of chess, we asked?

“I am not, in fact, a chess player, but the range in a set offered a rich field for exploration,” Husch says. “I tried to put into each piece some aspect of humanity, with a twist of humorous exaggeration — arrogant kings, condescending queens, belligerent knights, desiccated bishops, monstrous rooks, supplicating pawns.”

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

Image (L-R): Revolutionary Woman (2020); clay, underglaze, acrylic paint; 9”h x 5.5”w x 6”d; Dickens’ Uriah Heep (2020); clay, underglaze, acrylic paint; 9.5” x 5” x 5.5”; French Fop (2021); clay, underglaze, acrylic paint; 9” x 5.5” x 6”.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Community Engagement
302-577-8282, 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.