The Next Wilmington Art Loop is Tonight

June 3, 2022

Twenty-one galleries in and around Wilmington will participate this month

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 tonight, Friday, June 3. 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. Twenty-one galleries in and around Wilmington will participate in this month’s Art Loop. A complete list can be found in the April 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.
 
You are Invited to view Donna Usher’s exhibition at a reception in the Redding Gallery on Friday, June 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. For more artist information visit: www.DonnaUsher.com
 
Other featured establishments in June include The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery, The Mill Space, The Delaware Center for Horticulture, and the Bridge Art Gallery.

 

 

The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery, located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building, at 820 North French Street, proudly presents a selection of new works by Samara Weaver entitled Explorations Through Materiality. The Delaware Division of the Arts invites you to a reception that will include light refreshments on Friday, June 3 from 5 to 7 p.m.

 

 

The Mill Space, at 1007 North Orange Street, 4^th Floor, presents FOCUS: A Group Photography Exhibition featuring the work of Eric Zippe, Becca Mathias, Luigi Ciuffetelli, Jim Coarse, Joe Del Tufo, Natale Caccamo, and Rebecca Ashton Parsons. There will be a reception on Friday, June 3 from 4 to7 p.m. The show continues through Thursday, June 30, 2022.

 

 

The Delaware Center for Horticulture, at 1810 North Dupont Street, will feature two art exhibits beginning Friday, June 3: Susan Conner’s Healing Walks and the Sogetsu Brandywine Study Group Ikebana Exhibit. The Sogetsu Brandywine Study Group will be exhibiting their work on June 3 only, while Susan Conner’s work will be on display at DCH through August. There will be an Art Loop reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
 
During the pandemic, Susan has been walking the trails of White Clay Creek Preserve, Bombay Hook, Mt. Cuba, and other nearby parks and gardens. She has been inspired to capture the varied and beautiful images in oil paint. This process of immersing herself in nature physically and then capturing those experiences on canvas has been healing during these stressful times.
 
Our local Sogetsu Brandywine Study Group with Midori Tanimune, Advisor, will exhibit unique works of Ikebana floral art ranging from basic arrangements to freestyle creations. This floral art form depicts the arranger’s stylized vision of nature as well as creating works of art using sculptural elements of line, space, and mass with natural materials. All manner of flora, fresh as well as dried, may be combined with unconventional materials in Sogetsu arrangements making for unique and varied compositions.

 

Bridge Art Gallery @ New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, 920 Justison Street, presents BryteLighters by award-winning alcohol ink artist Bryant Small. Small, based in Jersey City, NJ, collaborated with nine talented artists to create this cross-medium collaborative series. This spectacular exhibition features collaborations with Antony Boone, Gabriel D’elia, Janine Edwards, Grey Johnson, Robert Koch, Suliman Onque, Martryce Roach, Akil Roper, Danielle Scott, and more! Gallery owners Cheryl and Christopher Mack, who are dedicated to advancing artistic activities through public engagement, invite you to Friday’s opening reception, which will feature live music and light refreshments from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

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, June 3, 2022.