On view from October 7-28, 2022

Wilmington, Del. (October 3, 2022) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery presents 2022 DDOA Individual Artist Fellow Joseph Barbaccia’s exhibition, Polymer Paintings, running October 7-28, 2022. Guests are invited to attend a Meet-the-Artist Reception on Friday, October 7, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

All his life, Joseph Barbaccia has been inspired by color and form. He was drawn to their motivating force even before his artistic inclinations and aspirations were clear to him. There were no artists among his extended family or their friends, but “at church on Sundays, I remember always wanting to sit in a pew the had a stained-glass window at the end in order to enjoy the colors close up,” as he studied the statues and the bas-reliefs on the walls.

Barbaccia was born in Philadelphia, but when he was a toddler, the family moved to rural New Jersey. He began drawing in earnest when he was six, at first to capture the attention of his second-grade teacher, whom he admired. But soon his family began to take notice. “Since then, except for six months in 1979 when I took a motorcycle trip [out west], I never stopped making images.” After taking classes at Philadelphia’s Tyler School of Fine Arts, Barbaccia traveled through the United States and the South Pacific, drawing and painting in a “mostly representational style.” In 1996 he settled in Potomac Falls, Virginia, where over the next two decades his experiments with encaustics, freestanding sculpture, and mixed media gained increasing attention and recognition.

The prolific artist has exhibited widely – over 35 group shows and 10 solo exhibitions – in galleries and major venues throughout the East Coast and the mid-Atlantic, including the Greater Reston Art Center, Delaware Contemporary, Rehoboth Art League, and Washington’s Corcoran Gallery. He’s been the subject of dozens of articles and reviews, both as an artist and as an illustrator with three published children’s picture books (and a fourth underway).

Barbaccia had always had a large studio, but in 2018 he and his wife (also an artist) moved to Georgetown, Delaware, where his workspace was smaller. Realizing “I would have to change my materials and methods to accommodate the new reality,” he landed on polymer clay as “the perfect choice.” The material – with its transparency and a full color spectrum – allows him to create in both two and three dimensions. It led Barbaccia in a new direction. “Approximately 90% of the artists creating with polymer clay create jewelry. I thought the time was right to expand its visual range.”

As well as inspiring Barbaccia, working with polymer clay has challenges. Using atypical art materials, “I sometimes come up against limiting parameters in applications to shows or competitions . . . [including] a list of accepted materials that doesn’t include polymer clay.” And the pandemic has led to a scarcity of his chosen material. But he continues to push against these and other constraints and revels in “showing and sharing my work.”

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: “Avatar,” 2021, polymer clay, 20 x 14 x .1 inches

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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 November 5-24, 2021

Wilmington, Del. (November 1, 2021) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present visual artist Denise Eno Ernest’s exhibition, In the Between, November 5-24, 2021. Ernest was named a 2021 Emerging Artist Fellow in Painting by the Delaware Division of the Arts. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, November 5 from 5-7 p.m.

Ernest’s work employs either three-dimensional forms attached to her paintings or mixed media to create a three-dimensional landscape. She integrates silk scarves, textiles and found objects with acrylic and metallic paint to build each piece. The juxtaposition of these materials, Ernest says, creates both a tension and vulnerability in her art. “The results are visual and tactile works in a language all my own.” One of the signature pieces in this exhibit, Prayer Tree In The Bleak Mid-Winter 2021, incorporates actual tree branches to represent trees in an abstract landscape.

Most pieces in this exhibition were generated as a result of her Division fellowship.

Learn more about Ernest and her upcoming exhibition with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

Image in banner: Prayer Tree In The Bleak Mid-Winter 2021, 2021, mixed media, 48 x 60 inches

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.  All visitors are required to wear face coverings and maintain 3 feet distance from other individuals not in their household.

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Contact: Kaitlin Ammon, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications
302-577-8280, kaitlin.ammon@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 October 1-29, 2021

Wilmington, Del. (September 27, 2021) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present visual artist Theresa Angela Taylor’s debut exhibition, Art Imitates My Life and Inspires Young Artists, October 1-29, 2021. Taylor was named a 2021 Emerging Artist Fellow in Folk Art: Visual Arts by the Delaware Division of the Arts. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, October 1 from 5-7 p.m.

Growing up in Harlem, Taylor was enveloped in art, music, creativity and activism. Her father and grandfather were both artists; her father was a painter and her grandfather a musician during the Harlem Renaissance. Other early influences came from artists like Pablo Picasso, Jacob Lawrence, Banksy, Georgia O’Keeffe and Kara Walker; from Motown musicians like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Smoky Robinson; and from civil rights activists like Malcolm X, Angela Davis and Nikki Giovanni. Her artwork is also informed by her encounters in everyday life. “News, kids, interesting things I read or see, my own thoughts,” she says. But what inspires her most is “Life and spreading positive energy through visual expression.”

With this exhibition, she chose the title and pieces because they collectively mirror her life’s direction. “Each piece talks about my life,” she says. “You see a representation of who I am; images of my ancients; my work with children in Dover, Delaware; even the insurrection at the Capitol. I want my audience to know…how I feel about my characters, the things that are important to me, and the message that the country is telling me as a Black woman in the United States.”

For more information about Theresa Angela Taylor and her upcoming exhibition, watch her Meet the Artist video.

Image in banner: Moon To Heart, 2020, acrylic, 24 x 36 inches

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.  All visitors are required to wear face coverings and maintain 3 feet distance from other individuals not in their household.

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Contact: Kaitlin Ammon, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications
302-577-8280, kaitlin.ammon@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 June 4-July 30, 2021

Wilmington, Del. (May 26, 2021) – The Journey, an exhibition of watercolor paintings by Howard J. Eberle, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from June 4-July 30, 2021. Eberle is the recipient of a 2021 Artist Fellowship in Painting from the Delaware Division of the Arts.

The majority of works in this exhibition span his journey of the last decade of a professional career that has lasted over 25 years. Included are award-winning paintings that have been exhibited in public museums in the USA and abroad.

Eberle describes himself as a portrait painter of objects. He is drawn to the peeled paint of an old barn, the rusty patina of an anchor, or the weathered wood on an old workboat. He carefully balances his compositions and eliminates some details that might distract the eye.

“I am greatly influenced by the Zen principal of kanso, and in my paintings keep only what is necessary to allow more space for quiet moments of contemplation. Through composition I strive to eliminate clutter in favor of simplicity.” – Howard J. Eberle

The paintings are transparent watercolor using a drybrush technique which enables him to achieve realistic, fine detail not typical of this medium.

Image in banner: Skiff, 2016, transparent watercolor, 11 x 30 inches

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. Visitors must wear face coverings and maintain 3 feet distance from other individuals not in their household.

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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 12 – July 24, 2020
Visit the Gallery in-person or view it online

Wilmington, Del. (June 10, 2020) – The Pandemic Paintings, an exhibition of watercolor portraits of health care workers and scenes that represent hope to them by Theresa (Terre) Walton, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from June 12-July 24, 2020. For those unable to visit in-person, an online gallery will be available on our main website on June 12. Walton, a retired art educator with over 25 years of experience, paints in both watercolors and acrylics and has exhibited in various venues in the Newark and Wilmington area.

The Pandemic Paintings started with Walton’s commitment to paint every day during the quarantine, and a spontaneous watercolor painted from a photo of her son’s fiancé in a mask before work. After posting the watercolor on Facebook, Walton received an avalanche of requests from family and friends to paint their loved ones working in health care. For over a week she painted up to four portraits a day to keep up with the demand. The result is a collection of over 35 portraits of people “connected to her by five degrees of separation.”

Moving on from the portraits, hope became the theme of the next phase of the quarantine watercolors. Walton requested from that same sphere of friends to send her a photo of something “that represents hope or a photo of what you hope to do when this whole thing is over.” Walton received many images of nature (walks, wildlife, and gardens) and water.

Most recently she is painting a series of loose, spontaneous images of her own choosing. Walton said, “I am still getting portrait requests and still fulfilling those requests, but primarily have moved on to the loose, relaxed work of the final phase, and hope.”

Images from Health Workers/ Five Degrees of Separation, 2020, watercolor, all images 5″ x 7″

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. Visitors must wear face coverings and maintain 6 feet distance from other individuals not in their household.

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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.