Wilmington strengthens its connection with an iconic artist via a film and 2 new sculptures

If you had to select just one artist whose work has made a lasting visual impact on Wilmington, you'd be hard-pressed not to go with the late Dorothy Gillespie.

Not only is her work in the collection of the Cameron Art Museum, but it's on permanent display at a half dozen Wilmington sites and venues, including, most prominently, at Thalian Hall, where her towering, 42-foot-tall aluminum sculpture "Beanstalk: Colorfalls I" has hung in the lobby since 1990.

Now, the historic downtown Wilmington theater will host the world premiere of what is the the first full-length documentary about Gillespie, a nationally recognized artist whose murals and distinctively graceful, delicate and often large-scale sculptures can be seen in public spaces in cities from New York to Orlando.

"Dorothy Gillespie: Courage, Independence, and Color" will premiere at Thalian Hall April 19 after a gala reception, with a second screening on Sunday, April 21. Both screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with documentary filmmakers Jay Scala and Crystal White, and with Gillespie's children, Dorien Gillespie Bietz and Gary Gillespie Israel, who are the caretakers of the artist's legacy via the Dorothy M. Gillespie Foundation.

Gillespie (1920-2012), a Virginia native who made her name in New York, has long had a special connection to Wilmington.

"Tony Rivenbark was a big part of that," said Amy Grant, owner of Wilmington's Art in Bloom gallery, speaking of the late Thalian Hall director, who died in 2022.

Rivenbark served as Gillespie’s assistant when he was living in New York in the early 1970s, and the two became lifelong friends and collaborators. Gillespie even had a house in Wilmington for a time in the 1980s, and in 1982 she helped put on the old St. Thomas Celebration of the Arts, an event many have pointed to as a turning point in Wilmington’s cultural history.

In 1990, "Colorfalls" was placed in the lobby of a newly renovated Thalian Hall and became her first piece to be permanently installed in Wilmington. This after major solo exhibitions at New York City’s Rockefeller Center and the Epcot Center in Orlando, among many other locations.

During a traveling retrospective of Gillespie's work at Cape Fear Community College's Wilma Daniels Gallery in 2021, "Walking through it with (Rivenbark) just reinforced how extraordinary Dorothy was," Grant said. "She's important for being ahead of her time."

Born in 1920, by the 1960s Gillespie had become a prominent figure in the American Art and Women's Art movements, though she didn't exactly love being called a "woman artist."

"She used to say she'd know we'd progressed when she was referred to as an artist instead of as a 'woman artist,'" Grant said. "I think she is an example of an original, avant garde artist. She is part of Wilmington and our legacy. I don't think a lot of people understand how many great artists we have in town, many of whom aren't from here. We're a melting pot for the arts, and she's a great example of that."

Starting out as an oil painter, Gillespie eventually made her name as a sculptor, and is especially known for transforming colorfully painted pieces of aluminum into works that can resemble flowers, fireworks or water.

Wilmington has more of her work is on display than any other city.

"It's not an accident. It's quite intentional and by design, with her family and with Tony," said Thalian Hall Director Shane Fernando. "Both she and her family had a real affinity for Wilmington, and it's special having that connection."

In addition to Thalian Hall, Gillespie's work is also at CFCC's Wilson Center, the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Cultural Arts Building, the New Hanover County Arboretum, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Art in Bloom, DREAMS of Wilmington and GLOW Academy.

Her family has also donated a piece to go on display at the city of Wilmington's new Skyline Center later this year, meaning Gillespie will have pieces in both Wilmington's former and current city hall.

Thalian Hall is also getting a new Gillespie piece. "Winter Jazz" will go on display in the Hall after a new performance space is developed in the former city hall part of the building.

"I have a home for it in my mind," Fernando said. "Tony had a great affection for this piece. It feels like it's alive. It has an incredible energy about it. It's from her period of time when she did work in silver and black."

Appropriately enough for display at Thalian Hall, "Winter Jazz" was inspired by a Broadway musical, "The Phantom of the Opera," that Gillespie "saw countless times," Fernando said.

It was originally commissioned by a Neiman Marcus deparment store, Fernando said, but when the store closed the piece went to auction, where Gillespie's family bought it back. They've held on to it for about 20 years, and now are donating it to Thalian, where it will have a permanent home.

Want to go?

• What: World premiere of documentary film "Dorothy Gillespie: Courage, Independence, and Color." Presented by Thalian Hall, Art in Bloom Gallery and the Dorothy M. Gillespie Foundation.

• When: 5:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. screening, April 19; 2:30 p.m. April 21

• Where: Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington

• Info: Tickets are $30 per screening, $50 for the April 19 screening and VIP reception. A Q&A with filmmakers will follow each screening.

• Details: 910-632-2285 or ThalianHall.org

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Film will deepen Wilmington's connection to artist Dorothy Gillespie