This Wilmington artist's colorful transit art is finally getting the attention it deserves

Michael Kalmbach
Special to The News Journal

Nearly eight years ago, abstract painter Ellen Priest encouraged a young artist from her Cool Spring neighborhood to seek me out at an art opening.

Ellen knew that I was about to open an art studio funded by the Department of Health and Social Services, and she thought this young man would benefit from the program.

I remember seeing Geraldo patiently waiting for an opportunity to talk to me that night. He was carrying a large portfolio case and looked like every student who has ever showed me their artwork, nervously determined and lit up with the kind of hope that only dreams can manufacture.

Michael Kalmbach is executive director of the Creative Vision Factory in Wilmington.

He walked over with a big smile, introduced himself and immediately started opening up about the trouble he was having.

He was frustrated that people didn’t take his art seriously. He told familiar stories of rejection and misunderstanding, then proceeded to show me dozens of technicolor drawings of public transit vehicles.

Fueled by the energy of his mark making, these drawings leapt from the page and immediately captured my imagination. As he showed me the work, a shyness gave way to pure enthusiasm and confidence.

It became clear that Geraldo wasn’t just some artistically inclined kid who liked buses and trains. Geraldo was an authority on public transit, whose knowledge of these vehicles, their history, their drivers and their routes poured out of him.

That night I told Geraldo to come to the Creative Vision Factory and promised that we’d get his work into every venue that had rejected him.

Eight years later, Geraldo has exhibited art at the Delaware Contemporary, the Delaware Art Museum and many other local venues. He was included in the 2014 exhibition "All Different Colors" at Fleisher/Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia.

The University of Delaware purchased four of his drawings for its permanent collection.

Geraldo Gonzalez, who often focuses on Wilmington's bus system, poses with a wider range of his work at an exhibit on Market Street.

This past semester, we were able to secure Geraldo a seat in Dr. Anne Bowler’s "Sociology of Art & Culture" course.

This partnership was born out of the Wilmington Archives Project, an initiative of the University of Delaware’s Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center. Students in this class were tasked with the documentation of our artists’ work.

Thanks to their efforts and the tireless work of Dr. David Kim, we now have an online archive to preserve the artistic production of Creative Vision Factory artists, many of whom are challenged by housing insecurity and make their artwork in the face of extraordinary odds.

As a member of the State Arts Council, I occasionally have to keep to myself information about grant decisions until the Division of the Arts makes the information public. We as a council approve the decisions made on the Individual Artist Fellowships at our end-of-the-year meeting.

These fellowships put much needed funds directly into the hands of Delaware artists. It’s often said that Delaware is a state of neighbors, so when it comes to the Delaware art community, we’re essentially a state of roommates.

Transportation artist Geraldo Gonzalez came to the Creative Vision Factory eight years ago, frustrated that nobody would take his art seriously.

Keeping this secret over the holidays until the announcements are made in January can be a challenge, especially when one of the 2019 fellows is Geraldo Gonzalez.  

This past year the Creative Vision Factory navigated two precarious contract extensions, and it feels like our very place in the city is threatened by a rapidly gentrifying downtown.

As I sat in that meeting reflecting on the news of Geraldo’s fellowship, I didn’t realize how much I needed some positive news. I began to think of all the people who have supported Geraldo and the Creative Vision Factory over the years, and what sustains us as an art community.

Our mission is certainly fueled by passion, but passion only gets us so far. At some point in our journey we need a friendly neighbor to point us in the direction of a well-connected supportive community.

When our work is recognized, valued and properly funded, the dark clouds of fear and alienation part, revealing a colorful vision of a more connected city that may as well be a Geraldo Gonzalez drawing.

I invite you to experience his work for yourself on Friday, Feb. 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at MKT Place Gallery on the corner of 9th & Orange streets.

Behind the Scenes is an occasional column by Delaware arts leaders. Michael Kalmbach is executive director of the Creative Vision Factory in Wilmington.

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