The Next Wilmington Art Loop 2022 Opens Friday, August 5

Seven venues located in Downtown Wilmington and along the Riverfront are highlighted this month

Life Wreath Gold by Donna Usher

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, City Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz, and Jerry duPhily of Out & About Magazine invite City residents and art lovers from around the region to the next Art Loop Wilmington, Friday, August 5. The popular FREE art exhibition, now in its 34^th year, is a partnership between the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs and Out & About. Galleries in Downtown Wilmington and along the Christina Riverfront will participate in this month's Art Loop, and a complete list can be found in the August issue of Out and About.
Wilmington's Redding Gallery, located at 800 North French Street, continues to present the work of painter Donna Usher, a graduate of the Moore College of Art & Design and the University of Delaware who was an Associate Professor of Art at West Chester University for 25 years. In 2021, Ms. Usher was awarded the Honors College Emerita Designation by the West Chester University Council of Trustees. In addition, in 1999 Professor Usher received the Faculty Merit Award for Creative Endeavors and Collaboration with Students.
Donna Usher's artwork is influenced by the commonalities of patterns, shapes and forms found in nature, such as circles, spheres, organic shapes, microscopic cells, aquatic life, deep space planets, and wind patterns seen from above the earth. Her frequent use of dots is inspired by a trip to Australia to study ancient Aborigine Dot Painting.
Ms. Usher's artworks have been exhibited in over 70 national and international juried and invitational exhibitions. Her artworks are in the Permanent Collections of the National Centre of Fine Arts, Cairo, Egypt; The Museum of Cozumel, Mexico; Reading Public Museum; Verizon Corporate Offices; Franklin Mint, Hercules Chemical Corporation; West Chester University; Moore College of Art & Design; Regional Center for Women in the Arts; Downingtown Public Library; American Restaurant Association Corporate Offices, and numerous private collections.
The Redding Gallery will host a reception on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with light refreshments and an interactive art activity surrounded by some of Ms. Usher's beautiful pieces. For more artist information visit: www.DonnaUsher.com
The other featured establishments in August include The Delaware Division of the Arts' Mezzanine Gallery, 2^nd & LOMA, the Chris White Gallery, and the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) Downtown, and The Delaware Contemporary and the Bridge Art Gallery at the Riverfront.

Rafting on the Rio Grande by Katie West

The Delaware Division of the Arts' Mezzanine Gallery, located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building at 820 North French Street, is pleased to present a selection of photographs by Individual Artist Fellow, Katie West, entitled Jamaican Journey. Travel to Jamaica with this collection of photos depicting the rich culture and color from across the island - including landscapes, seascapes, flowers, people, and architecture. "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."
The Delaware Division of the Arts invites you to meet Katie West at an opening reception on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition runs through Sunday, August 29.

Love More Love Now by Brian Hearns

2^nd & LOMA, at 211 North Market Street, presents LivnSol by Brian Hearns of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, an artist known for works that command attention. "My heart and soul are woven into the fabric of art through painting, recycled art, stone sculpture, jewelry making, and poetry," says Hearns. Also, experience the Bud & Butta Botanical Skincare Pop Up Shop. You're invited to an Art Loop reception on Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Worth More Than Gold by Kasmira Cade-Seymour

Chris White Gallery, at 701 Shipley Street, will present "Color of Women," with artists Kasmira Cade-Seymour, Rising Phoenix, and Shannon Woodloe. Kasmira's contemporary paintings experiment with elements of the surreal, fantasy, and bright colors to create eye-catching portraits and scenes of lively shapes and patterns. Rising Phoenix's scores of small-scale graphic paintings depict subject matter that ranges from civil rights to politics to African American identity. Shannon's powerful photography portrays images that highlight the relationship between gravity, dance, and the human figure.

There will be an opening Art Loop reception on Friday, August 5 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibition closes with a reception as well, on Friday, August 26, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Uncaged by Valetta

Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD), at 600 North Market Street, will feature in its new second floor gallery the bold figurative abstractions of the artist Valetta. Included are several large works in pastel, oil, and mixed media done over the past 40 years. The artist will be available to share insights and musings about her work throughout Friday evening.

Valetta is a graduate of New York's Pratt Institute and has done graduate work at Tyler School of Art and the University of Pennsylvania. She has also attended classes at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. She has been included in numerous juried and group shows in cities across the United States and Europe where she has won top prizes for her work. Valetta has had solo shows throughout the Delaware Valley in such venues as the Widener Art Museum in Chester, the Port of History Museum in Philadelphia, and the Allentown Art Museum. Valetta maintains a working studio in Thornton and is director of a non-profit organization, the Regional Center for Women in the Arts in West Chest, Pennsylvania.

Outside In by Leanna Bacani

The Delaware Contemporary, at 200 South Madison Street, invites you to OUTSIDE IN - Discovery Space by Leanna Bacani. The Discover Space provides an annual opportunity for one emerging artist to create an installation space in response to The Delaware Contemporary's exhibition themes. OUTSIDE IN is an installation by local artist Leanna Bacani, arranged to create a hyperreal experience through organic shapes and textures directly inspired by the Brandywine and Christina rivers. Over the year, The Discover Space will become a changing and developing ecosystem that will allow visitors to PLAY indoors.
Ms. Bacani is an installation artist currently based in Newark, Delaware. While completing her BFA at Moore College of Art and Design, she devoted her foundational skills in numerous forms of art making. It is this immensity of experimentation that has allowed her to create a more involved, art viewing experience. The distillation of motifs taken from nature allow us to experience her installation-based work as a simulacrum of the landscape. Leaves, mycelium, wind patterns and water currents become patterns and tufted shapes of texture. These 3-D representations transcend the pictorial, leeching into the observer's personal space. Just as a falling leaf can graze the cheek of a bystander out in nature, Leanna's work evokes the sense of touch while acting as a microcosm of the whole. Each tufted piece relates to the rest, creating an elaborate system of tactile pieces.

You're invited to a FREE opening reception on Friday, August 5 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. featuring a cash bar. Event highlights include music from Ed Dwornik and The Seedlings, a visit from the Brandywine Zoo, piñata smashing, and water stamping (make your "mark" by water stamping at Riverfront businesses trailing from The Delaware Contemporary to the Delaware Children's Museum).

Home - With Love from Mama to Mijo by Maria Lupianez

Bridge Art Gallery @ New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, 920 Justison Street, proudly presents its third Art Exhibition entitled "Raising Men" and featuring the art of Maria Lupianez. You are invited to an Art Loop reception at the Emerging Enterprise Center on Friday, August 5 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with live music and light refreshments. The event is free and open to the public, but member registration is requested.

COVID GUIDELINES
All visitors are expected to confirm and follow COVID guidelines as determined by individual galleries.

Patrons are encouraged to take advantage of the Art Loop shuttle, which will leave the parking lot of the Chamber of Commerce's Bridge Art Gallery, located at 920 Justison Street, at 5:45 p.m. The shuttle provides round-trip transportation to either Downtown Art Loop venues or locations in Trolley Square and venues north of Downtown and are a convenient way to meet other art lovers. The shuttle driver will be on-hand at The Contemporary to answer questions and help art enthusiasts navigate the many offerings of Art Loop Wilmington. Reservations are not required.

The Wilmington Art Loop is a self-guided exhibition of visual art displayed at galleries, studios, museums, and alternative spaces in and around Wilmington. The FREE event draws local and regional art lovers to the Downtown District and greater Wilmington area on the first Friday of the month except for Independence Day Weekend in July. Many venues offer opportunities to meet the featured artists while patrons enjoy refreshments, and, in some cases, live entertainment is scheduled.
Art Loop Wilmington's website - a hand-held guide to the Loop that is easily navigable by gallery location, artist, or type of venue - is mobile friendly and features the monthly lineup at least two weeks prior to the start of each Art Loop. The site can be accessed at www.artloopwilmington.org. People can also join the conversation on social media by using #ArtLoopWilm or visit the Facebook Page. The next Art Loop will take place on Friday, September 9, 2022.

COMMUNITY AND MEDIA INQUIRIES:

John Rago
Deputy Chief of StaffOffice of the Mayor
Mobile: (302) 420-7928
Email: j[email protected]

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.