The Mezzanine Gallery Presents Virginia Lockman’s “Figments”

Wilmington, Del. (March 7, 2024) – The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to showcase Figments, an exhibition of digital collages by artist Virginia Lockman, on view from March 7–28, 2025. An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 7, from 5:00–7:00 p.m., offering guests the opportunity to meet the artist and explore her imaginative works.

Inspired by an old family album, Figments is a deeply personal series of digital collages incorporating family photographs. Lockman’s work evokes the charm of childhood fairy tales, blending vintage imagery with birds, animals, celestial elements, and navigational references—guiding viewers through dreamlike interpretations of the past.

“A few years ago, I inherited a family album from the early 1900s. It contained images of my great-grandparents, my father, my aunt, their childhood friends, family pets, and many unknown relatives. Who were these people? I wondered about their personalities, pieced together a few known facts, and imagined their lives. That’s when I began making collages,” says Lockman. “Each piece is an adventure—an intuitive process that takes on a life of its own. It’s a conversation with the past and with myself, something invented. Many are populated with birds, animals, and nature, reminiscent of the fairy tale illustrations from my childhood books. Others incorporate celestial or navigational references, aiding in flights of imagination.”

Through Figments, Lockman reimagines family history, weaving myth and memory into visually compelling narratives. Each piece serves as both a personal tribute to her ancestors and an invitation for viewers to step into an imagined world shaped by history, nostalgia, and artistic interpretation.

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

About the Artist

Virginia Lockman is a photographer and digital artist whose work explores landscapes—both external and internal, real and imagined. She finds beauty in the everyday and the unnoticed, using her art to express a quiet reverence for the natural world and the passage of time. Lockman’s solo exhibitions have been featured at Colourworks, The ArtSpace at Siegel JCC, and Blue Streak/The River Tower at Christina Landing. Her work has also been exhibited at the Wayne Art Center, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, The Delaware Contemporary, Plymouth Center for the Arts, Rehoboth Art League, and Mt. Cuba Visitors Center. She resides in Wilmington, Delaware, and spends summers in a cabin in Atlantic Canada.

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.

Image in the banner: “Flight of Fancy” (2023), photograph, 12”x18”.