Delaware Art Museum Exhibition Accompanied by Documentary Screening
The Delaware Art Museum presents “Wes Memeger: The Square and Other Concerns,” opening on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Programming surrounding the exhibition, which runs through Sunday, January 22, 2023, includes a November 6 documentary screening of “Dr. Wesley Memeger Jr.: Science into Art,” produced by Hagley Museum and Library. This exhibition, along with “A Marriage of Arts & Crafts: Evelyn and William De Morgan” will be celebrated with a Member Preview Party on Friday, October 21 at 5 p.m.
Wes Memeger, a long-time Delawarean, has explored the square for decades. In his early career as a chemist, he analyzed the skewed bonds in an almost-square carbon and hydrogen compound. As an artist, Memeger studied the works of abstract painters, reading and viewing their considerations of the basic and ubiquitous shape.
Memeger says, “From the 1970s to the 1990s, while I was still working as a chemist, I read intensely and thought about art matters focusing on abstractionist painters such as Kazimir Malevich, Josef Albers, Piet Mondrian, Johannes Itten, and Franz Kline.”
Drawing from these seemingly disparate backgrounds, Memeger uses the square as a building block, developing abstract compositions that layer form, color, and texture. The artist adds circles and arcs, gold leaf, and fluorescent colors, creating works that capture for him, “significant dynamism, but at the same time, surprising tranquility.”
Margaret Winslow, Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art, says, ”Memeger has long contributed to and activated the contemporary art community in Wilmington. He, like this exhibition, pushes us to consider the subtle but impactful nature of art. The paintings in this exhibition are as much about the square as they are about our perceptions of supposedly rigid shapes in our world and their slightly, but constantly, shifting nature.”
Memeger is a multi-decade fixture at many Delaware arts organizations, whether as an exhibited artist or a board or committee member. Hagley’s website notes that when Memeger started at DuPont in 1964, he was only the fourth African American with a doctorate in chemistry to join the firm. Over the course of a 32-year career, he amassed fourteen patents and left his mark on some of DuPont’s most famous products, like Kevlar.
The exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum features 18 works on canvas and paper from the past 25 years. The selection showcases Memeger’s creativity with form and materials.
The Member Preview Party celebrates both the De Morgan and Memeger exhibitions at the Museum, with a cash bar, light bites and entertainment. It is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket; free for Members. The documentary screening of “Dr. Wesley Memeger Jr.: Science into Art,” produced by Hagley Museum and Library, and partially funded by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will be held on Sunday, November 6, at 2 p.m., and is free to the public. Visit delart.org for information about these events and the exhibition.
This exhibition is made possible by David Pollack Vintage Posters and Lucinda and David Pollack. This exhibition is made possible through a grant from DuPont. This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.
About the Delaware Art Museum
For over 100 years, the Museum has served as a primary arts and cultural institution in Delaware. It is alive with experiences, discoveries, and activities to connect people with art and with each other. Originally created in 1912 to honor the renowned illustrator and Wilmington-native, Howard Pyle, the Museum’s collection has grown to over 12,000 works of art in our building and sculpture garden. Also recognized for British Pre-Raphaelite art, the Museum is home to the most comprehensive Pre-Raphaelite collection on display outside of the United Kingdom, and a growing collection of significant contemporary art.
Under the leadership of our Board of Trustees, the Delaware Art Museum is implementing a comprehensive approach to community and civic engagement. This exciting new strategic direction requires that we increase our value and relevance to all audiences. Visit delart.org to for the latest exhibitions, programs, and performances or connect with us via social media.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Wes Memeger: The Square and Other Concerns
WHEN: October 15, 2022—January 22, 2023
WHERE: Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806
COST: Included in Museum admission
INFO: delart.org
Member’s Preview Talk & Party
Wednesday, October 21, 2022, 5-8 p.m.
$20-$40; free for Members
Film Screening and Discussion of “Dr. Wesley Memeger Jr. : Science into Art”
Sunday, November 6 at 2 p.m.
Free after admission
Image: Ziptych with Solid Cylinder Plus 3 Open Cylinders, 2017. Wes Memeger (born 1939). Acrylic on shaped canvas with acrylic and Plexiglas, cylinders on board, 27 7/8 x 74 x 1 ½ inches. Courtesy of the artist. © Wes Memeger.