The Delaware Contemporary will be celebrating its 25th anniversary on the RiverFront this year, and soon we’ll be celebrating our 50th anniversary as a community-focused contemporary art space. Through the decades, we’ve been supported by artists who’ve become titans in the Delaware art scene. Their energy, creativity, and dedication to their craft and education make their Earthly departure much harder to bear. In Emeriti, we pay tribute to some great artists who dedicated their lives to their craft, fulfilling and exceeding their terms of service to Delaware’s artistic community.
We are honored to recognize artists who’ve given so much to the museum and the Delaware art scene. We thank these expressive and lively artists now laid to rest.
Maxine Rosenthal
Maxine Rosenthal was an accomplished career person at DuPont before she picked up metalsmithing in her retirement. Her keen eye for detail in the corporate world translated for her delicate and precise touch in the arts. She served on the Executive Board when we were the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, and spent time working with, fundraising for, and sharing her love of art with our community.
Stan Smokler
Stan Smokler had a long career of exhibiting and educating on steel welding. He made melted steel look weightless through floating frames and organic geometry reminiscent of Gaudí. Smokler used found objects and combined them to find a new piece, wholly unrecognizable from its parts. He dedicated time and effort to his studio practice as he did to educating up-and-coming welders through his Marshall Bridge Workshop. Delaware Contemporary alumni have graduated from his workshop, such as former security chief Antonio Calzada-Charma and former Curator Kathrine Page.
Bob Straight
Bob Straight had a long career teaching painting at The University of Delaware. Many of his students have exhibited in these galleries, showing the traces of his teaching legacy in their vibrant, abstracted works. Straight’s paintings and sculptures incorporated any material he could get his hands on, from pool noodles to old sewing patterns to plastic tubing. He lived and wore his artistic style, and was effortlessly the coolest guy in the room.
