The annual show celebrating the Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship recipients is back at the Biggs Museum of American Art.
"Award Winners XXIV'' opened at the museum on April 18 with a gallery reception and a showcase from this year’s DDOA Artist Fellows. Musical performances and author readings were held at the nearby Schwartz Center in partnership with Delaware State University. If you missed the opening festivities, it’s not yet too late to see this exhibition for yourself.
The 2024 Artist Fellows hail from all across the First State, representing each of Delaware’s three counties. The exceptional work produced by each of the honorees spans a variety of media and themes, from dance to photography and beyond.
The award winners, honored in three different categories — Masters, Established and Emerging — embody the qualities of the small but formidable Delaware arts scene: creativity, perseverance, and a commitment to fostering community. This year’s exhibition gives Delawareans a chance to see some of the brightest artistic talents working in the state today.
Trebs Thompson from Newark, winner of an Established Fellowship in Crafts, draws inspiration from “Old World” European masters, as well as modern artists to create mesmerizing works that often use found objects — materials that were not created to be used in art production, but are given a new life in the hands of the artist.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Thompson’s diagnosis with a rare vision-impairing disease prompted changes in her process and also serves as a subject for her art. Her six-foot-tall piece "Losing Sight (Going Dark Triptych)'' is a wood frame adorned with painted glass, pairs of eyeglasses, clock faces and more. It also features a depiction of St. Cecilia, the patron of music, who is also sometimes recognized as the patron saint of the blind.
Emerging Literature Fellow Joyce Enzor Maust of Dover also draws from her real-life experiences for her art. In her poetry, Maust, who was raised in a Conservative Mennonite community, “[strives] to capture the duality within Plain communities, celebrating the beauty of simplicity and wholesomeness while addressing the shadows of generational abuse, especially childhood sexual abuse.”
She aims “to inspire healing and understanding and ultimately bring positive change to future generations.” The harsh realities in Maust’s poems often include an undercurrent of hope for the community in which she grew up.
Another artist for whom community-mindedness is at the forefront is Emerging Fellow Brandan Henry. In drawings such as his 2024 work "Shore,'' Henry depicts Black figures against the “void” of the white of the paper. This “calls attention to the shapes their bodies make and also flips the idea of invisibility, questioning who becomes unseeable,” Henry says. “My focus is on understanding how social conditions shape identity and perception.”
These and the other DDOA Individual Artist Fellows provide a view of the diverse issues facing Delaware’s residents. Their art also inspires viewers to imagine and create brighter potential futures.
The display of the show by the Biggs Museum is thought-provoking in itself, mixing the historic and contemporary together. The museum’s curator, Laura Fravel, made the following statement on the display for "Award Winners XXIV'':
“This year, we have decided to incorporate works by visual arts, folk art and literature fellows on the first and second floors of our museum, interspersed among our permanent collection, to showcase works by contemporary makers in dialogue with museum objects. It is remarkable to see how artists approach similar themes and techniques across generations.”
In other words, as you walk through the Biggs, you can encounter a stunning photograph by Wilmington artist Shakira Hunt above an 18th-century table, or a dress made from recycled plastic by Newark’s Julieta Zavala in a gallery of 19th-century folk art. The contrast between the works of the artist fellows and the historic treasures in the Biggs’ collection provides the opportunity to appreciate the work of each of the exhibition honorees and consider some more familiar objects in a new light.
The Biggs’ display also features multimedia stations where visitors can read the work of the award winners in Literature, listen to a selection of the Fellows’ readings and music, and watch dance performances.
"Award Winners XXIV'' will run through July 28 at the Biggs, and then will travel to CAMP Rehoboth in Rehoboth Beach and Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington, Delaware.
To see the exhibition and The Biggs’ permanent collection, visit the museum at 406 Federal St. on Dover’s Historic Green. The Biggs Museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Victoria Kenyon is director of marketing and public relations of Biggs Museum of American Art.
Most Popular
Comments / 0