The Gregg Silvis: Goldberg Variations: 32 Miniatures Based on Bach’s Keyboard Masterpiece

The Goldberg Variations: 32 Miniatures Based on Bach’s Keyboard Masterpiece, an exhibition of mixed media works by Gregg Silvis, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from November 1-27, 2019. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, November 1 from 5-7 p.m. Silvis, a Newark resident, received a 2019 Fellowship in Sculpture from the Delaware Division of the Arts.

The exhibition is a series of 32 miniatures based on a composition for harpsichord by J.S. Bach, the Goldberg Variations. Silvis created an 8 x 8 inch work for each of the variations using a range of techniques and materials in the panels. The music is represented by typical musical notes along with less traditional looking dots, graphs, and in Variation #10, symbols that reference the movie The Matrix. The installation provides a three-dimensional view of the printed music, endeavoring to capture the tiered nature of the composition.

Prior to his thirty year career as an academic librarian, Silvis received undergraduate and graduate degrees in music performance and played French horn professionally for a number of years. In the past few years he began to pursue his long-dormant artistic impulses and retired early to pursue his artistic career full time. “I realized that this was what I really wanted and needed to do full-time. I view it as a return to the right side of my brain,” Silvis said.

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.

Image: Goldberg Variations #23, 2019, mixed media, 8” x 8”