Delaware
Mezzanine Gallery presents Kira Krell’s “Stone Formations”
Krell’s textured abstract works invite viewers to slow down and reflect on the enduring presence of the natural world.
Wilmington, Del. (April 28, 2026) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present Stone Formations, a solo exhibition of new work by Kira Krell, on view May 1-29, 2026. An opening reception will be held Friday, May 1, from 5-7pm, in the Mezzanine Gallery, located in the Carvel State Office Building at 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. Admission is free and open to the public.
“Stone Formations” guides viewers from volcanic deserts to coastal shorelines through a series of layered, relief-like paintings that trace geological time and place. Krell builds her surfaces by combining sand, plaster, and earth pigments, adding, subtracting, and distressing these materials to achieve textures that appear weathered and time-worn. Intricate details emerge through dry brushing and mark-making with acrylics and pencils, revealing the inner structures of the geological forms she studies. Fascinated by the permanence and strength conveyed by natural landscapes, Krell offers an impression of steadiness and belonging – a counterpoint to the pace and instability of contemporary life. The exhibition invites viewers to pause, breathe, and reflect on the enduring presence of the physical world.
The Mezzanine Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
About the Artist
Kira Krell is an abstract artist based in Townsend, Delaware, whose practice centers on multi-layered surfaces and material exploration. Born in 1973 in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, Krell grew up in a creative family that valued hands-on making, and spent more than a decade traveling internationally as a missionary, experiences that continue to shape her connection to physical environments and place.
Krell began painting during the COVID-19 pandemic, after challenging herself to try drawing. Working with watered-down craft paint, a pen, and an empty CD sleeve, she created her first line-and-wash work. That experimental process led her to canvas and to her current abstract style. Since formally developing her practice in 2021, Krell has refined her work through specialized workshops and ongoing research into historic materials, including plaster and earth pigments.
In 2024, she presented her first solo exhibition, Beauty in Brokenness, at the Newark Arts Alliance Gallery in Newark, Delaware. Her work has also been shown at the Bethany Beach Arts Festival and in group exhibitions at the Newark Arts Alliance. Krell is the recipient of a 2024 Artist Opportunity Grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts and the Delaware State Arts Council. Her paintings are held in private collections in Europe and across the United States.
About the Mezzanine Gallery
The Mezzanine Gallery, located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building (820 N. French Street, Wilmington, DE), is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The gallery highlights the work of Delaware’s Individual Artist Fellows, showcasing a diverse range of artistic talent throughout the year. For more information, visit https://arts.delaware.gov/mezzanine-gallery.
Images in the banner: “Rockport Shore” (2026), plaster, pigment on canvas, 18”x24”.
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Contact: Andrew Truscott, Program Officer, Marketing and Communications
302-577-8280, andrew.truscott@delaware.gov
About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.
What is Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel ship?
Here’s the history of Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel ship explained in 36 seconds.
The Delaware history column features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
100 years ago, The Evening Journal, June 21, 1926
Jealous man kills woman, wounds boy
Oliver K. Higgins, aged 33 years, of Washington Street, in a fit of jealousy late Saturday night, is alleged to have pumped seven bullets from an automatic revolver into Mrs. Edna M. Martin, 40 years old, of Spruce Street, killing her.
Charles Brown, the 15-year-old of Mrs. Gladys Brown, was shot in the jaw and shoulder by Higgins but will recover. Mrs. Brown, also of the Spruce Street address, is the sister of the slain woman. …
Mrs. Martin, who was employed by the Home Baking Company on Market Street, left the store at a late hour Saturday night, accompanied by Paul A. Crawford of Marshallton and went home. They found Mrs. Brown sitting in the dining room with Julius K. Bowman of Newport.
The women and men sat around the table for a short time. At 11:45 o’clock, hearing someone taking out a window screen in the parlor, Mrs. Brown went to the hall to see what caused the noise.
She saw Higgins step in the window with a gun in his hand. She opened the door and ran off the porch.
Higgins failed to see Mrs. Brown and continued to the dining room where Mrs. Martin and the two men were sitting. He leveled the revolver at their heads and said, “Stick your hands up everybody, and I don’t mean maybe.”
Higgins then asked for Mrs. Brown. Learning she had gone out the front door, he ran after her, passing her as she crouched behind a hedge a few feet from the doorway. He returned to the dining room, but the men had fled. He then turned to Mrs. Martin and fired as she ran. …
Leaving the dead woman at the head of the steps, Higgins rushed in the back room in search of Mrs. Brown. Charles Brown, who had been sleeping, awoke because of the noise. …
Hearing the boy going down the stairs, Higgins stepped to the stair rail and shot him twice. …
Mrs. Brown went to the drug store of Otto H. Miller at 22nd and Pine streets to telephone police. …
Officers surrounded the Brown house … and arrested Higgins. …
Higgins met Mrs. Brown several months ago when he was in the employ of the United Cigar Store, and Mrs. Brown was working nearby. He is said to have become jealous over the attention of other men to Mrs. Brown, who is divorced. She asked him to stop annoying her and appealed to police.
After Higgins threatened Mrs. Brown with a gun, she told her employer who called the United Cigar Company and made a complaint to the manager. Shortly after this, Higgins was discharged.
50 years ago, The Morning News, June 23, 1976
Bill would jail parents of delinquent kids
A tough measure that provides for jailing the parents of delinquent children or requiring them to spend weekends with delinquents at juvenile detention centers has been introduced in the Delaware Senate.
The bill is the brainchild of the community-based services staff of the juvenile corrections bureau.
“This gives a way to coax them (the parents),” said John J. Mulvena, juvenile corrections chief. “If not to coax them, to require them. If not require them, jail them.”
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Herman Holloway Sr., D-Wilmington.
Mulvena said it is “directed at parents who are reluctant to participate in the responsible supervision of their children.”
He said due to “stubbornness, ignorance or neglect,” his staff often ends up acting as “mother, father, aunt, uncle or surrogate” for children “while the parents get off scot-free.”
20 years ago, The News Journal, June 26, 2006
Storms wallop Sussex with 6-8 inches of rain
Jack English knew he was in trouble early Sunday morning.
He kept waking up to the sound of his Seaford basement sump pump trying to keep up with the downpour outside….
At first, he found a few inches of water on his basement floor. Then, all of a sudden, his backyard was completely flooded and the rising water blew out his basement window. …
“I was evacuated by the fire department,” he said. …
In six to eight hours, 7 inches fell in Bridgeville, more than 8 inches in Georgetown and nearly 6 inches in Laurel….
The Seaford Fire Company had its first sign of trouble at 7:30 a.m., when a crew responded to a person trapped in a car by rising water. As the morning went on, rescue crews turned to boats.
An estimated 300 people were evacuated from homes at three mobile home parks southeast of Blades.
Meanwhile, in Seaford, concern grew as water levels rose in the Nanticoke River and Williams Pond. As a precaution, 110 residents of Lifecare at Lofland Park rehabilitation center were evacuated to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital. …
At the Seaford Walmart, a team of swift water rescuers from Salisbury, Maryland helped people trapped in the parking lot, with water up to the top of some cars. …
Bridges at Craigs Mill Road and Woodland Road washed out. …
The American Red Cross opened a shelter at Woodbridge High School in Bridgeville. About 30 people were staying there Sunday night.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — All lanes closed on I-69 in the southbound direction in Delaware County on Friday morning.
Authorities with the Indiana State Police were dispatched to the 240.5 mile marker on a report of a crash involving a semi at approximately 8:08 a.m.
All lanes are now open.
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