A sample from Lockman’s exhibit at the Mezzanine Gallery. (Photo courtesy of the Delaware Division of the Arts)
WILMINGTON – The Mezzanine Gallery in Wilmington is hosting a new art exhibit, “Figments,” featuring the digital collages of Virginia Lockman.
The exhibition, which opens Friday and runs through Friday, March 28, offers visitors a chance to explore a deeply personal collection of works that blend family history with imagination.
An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 7, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., providing an opportunity to meet the artist and view her thought-provoking pieces.
“Figments” draws inspiration from a family album Lockman inherited from the early 1900s.
Lockman’s inspiration
The collection of vintage family photographs, filled with images of her great-grandparents, father, aunt, and their childhood friends, sparked Lockman’s creative exploration.
She weaves these images together in a series of digital collages, blending in elements of birds, animals, celestial motifs, and navigational imagery to create dreamlike, fairy tale-like interpretations of the past.
“A few years ago, I inherited a family album that contained images of my great-grandparents, my father, my aunt, and many unknown relatives,” Lockman said. “I wondered about their personalities and lives, and that curiosity led me to create these collages.
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Each piece is an adventure, she said, a conversation with the past and with herself.
“The collages are intuitive and often include elements like birds, animals, nature, and celestial references that invite viewers to journey through my imagination,” she said.
Through “Figments,” Lockman reimagines the lives of her ancestors, transforming history and memory into visually compelling stories.
The exhibition invites visitors to engage with these artistic interpretations and reflect on the personal and universal aspects of family, time, and nostalgia.
Lockman, a Wilmington resident, is a photographer and digital artist whose work delves into the landscapes of both the external world and inner reflections.
Known for her ability to find beauty in the everyday and the unnoticed, Lockman’s art expresses a reverence for the natural world and the passage of time.
Her solo exhibitions have been featured at venues such as Colourworks, The ArtSpace at Siegel JCC, and The Delaware Contemporary.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz and on LinkedIn.
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