Stained glass and found objects

Wall Mosaic
Viral, 24” x 30”, is part of the Un-Shattered Series referencing a correlation to rebuilding the broken city of Detroit by assembling thousands of tiny pieces of glass. Consisting stained glass, stained glass with special finishes and dichroic glass, Viral radiates with color and shine depending on position and direction of light. Rusted found steel objects form the overpass to reference the city’s automotive and industrial history.

Darcel Deneau is a 2021 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow and a graduate of the College for Creative studies. For over twenty years, Detroit has been a source of inspiration. She continues to explore the Un-Shattered series; a reference to Detroit, a city that is worthwhile of preserving. Using glass and objects finds and around the city, she builds images of Detroit that parallel its current growth. There’s a striking similarity between the approach to her process and Detroit’s transformation.

Painting had been her primary medium until six years ago when she transitioned exclusively to mosaic; essentially, painting her Detroit landscapes with glass and found objects. Her work can be found in the significant collections of Huntington Place (formerly Cobo Center), Gretchen Valade / Mack Avenue Records, Carhartt, Henry Ford Hospital, Nathan Forbes, Matt and Karen Cullen, Dave and Linda Whittaker, Hudson-Webber Foundation and Tim and Marilyn Mast.