Chip Deitrick, owner of the new Fenwick Island-based gallery Delaware Art, is getting ready. His two-month old gallery is already receiving a great response from customers and art collectors from all over the local scene.
And, in an attempt to reach out to even more area art lovers, he plans to hold numerous events and shows – starting this week, with “Cruisin’: A Classic Custom Photography Exhibit.” The week-long event at the gallery will complement Ocean City’s Cruisin’ weekend, in which car enthusiasts from up and down the coast come to the shore for an enticing appreciation of classic automobiles.
Artwork from Lewes photographer Geri Dibiase will be featured at Deitrick’s gallery from Monday, May 14, through Monday, May 21, with an artist’s reception – complete with food, drinks and a meet-and-greet – on Saturday, May 19, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Included in the solo-artist’s display are Dibiase’s work featuring classic custom cars and street rods, a medium that began at last year’s Cruisin’ show.
Much of her work specializes in macro-photography, or a zoomed-in shot.
“I have always been fascinated by the colors, lines and forms of flowers,” she said. “I love taking something so natural and turning it into something abstract. It’s a lot like the work of photographer Georgia O’Keeffe.”
Her passion for photography began more than 30 years ago.
“My parents bought me my first camera when I was in the eighth grade,” she recalled. “That was when I knew that this was my love.” She said she is amazed to find something new in photography after all these years. “It’s all very new and exciting,” she said.
Shots of hot rods and classic cars have opened up new doors for Dibiase’s possibilities. “I began to see the same features in the cars as I saw in the flowers,” she said. “I was overcome with the same thing. It’s all about color and shape. I look at all of my close-ups so differently now.”
She attributes her admiration of the classic cars to her cousin, Bob, a hot rod enthusiast, and 15-year-old nephew, Dan, whose fascination rubbed off on her rather quickly.
“They told me to go to Cruisin’ last year and I said I’d try it,” she said. “I was like a little kid in a candy store. It was all so incredible.”
Dibiase participated in a recent show that she called “The Yin and Yang of Photography,” where she displayed the elegance and delicacy of the flowers beside the hard, abstract steel of the hot rods.
Originally from Philadelphia, Dibiase frequented the Delaware beaches in the summer with her family since 1958. “I’ve always loved the area and it’s wonderful to be down here, now,” she said.
Her work is sold throughout Delaware, in her native Pennsylvania, and also at locations in Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts, as well as in Europe, South America and Australia.
“I’m thankful to be working with Chip [Deitrick] at his gallery,” Dibiase said, “and it’s great to have something to go along with [Ocean City’s] Cruisin’. It’s something, too, to be referred to as a Delaware artist. It’s been a dream of mine for years.”
“This is our first public event since we opened,” said Deitrick. “We cater to local artists, but it’s also really nice to have a theme show relating to what’s going on in the area. The Cruisin’ show brings in a great crowd, and it’s nice to have something that appeals to them.”
Deitrick and wife Barbara have both been enticed by art for most of their lives.
“I’ve been creating art for a long while,” said Chip Deitrick, who began working at galleries in high school. His gallery may be new in the Fenwick area, but Chip Dietrick ran art businesses in Millville and Bethany for nearly a decade.
Barbara Deitrick has also made a name for herself, moving up to a position as one of the state’s most prominent watercolor artists. Her work has regularly been featured in the well-known Bethany Boardwalk Art Festival, held around the closing of each summer. Chip Deitrick himself specializes in beach portrait photography and fine art printing at Delaware Arts.
Chip Deitrick said he plans to keep specialized exhibits a common theme at his new gallery, continuing later this month with a host of his own and Barbara’s work.
“We want to try to have something every two weeks or so,” he said. “We’re hosting an underwater theme exhibit later in June. There are a lot of local artists who can capture beach scenes. We wanted to take a different approach and keep things unique.”
For more information about the exhibit, call Delaware Arts at (302) 537-2650, visit the Web site at www.delawarearts.com or stop in to the gallery, located in Fenwick Island in the Ocean Bay Plaza.