Lexington artist, gallery owner dies of coronavirus. His last work? ‘Guardian Angels.’

Carleton Wing, a prolific Lexington multimedia artist and gallery owner with a sharp wit, sly humor and a command of an array of techniques and materials, died Thursday morning of complications from the coronavirus. He was 77.

Wing had announced last week on Facebook that he had tested positive for the virus. His wife, Livia Theodoli-Wing, said he died at the University of Kentucky Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since Saturday.

The couple moved back to Lexington in 2017 after having spent several years in Tampa, where he received a bone marrow transplant for a form of leukemia.

“He was the epitome of an introvert, but his artwork spoke volumes,” Theodoli-Wing said. “His work started off as social and political commentary, and he spoke through his art. Since we got back from Florida, he wanted to amuse people instead.”

A native of Weymouth, Mass., Wing was transferred to Lexington by IBM, where he worked as a technical writer, in about 1975. He continued working at IBM and, later, Lexmark until he retired about 12 years ago, but his true calling was as an artist. He opened his own gallery, Wingspan, at Jefferson and Second Street, in 2000, operating it until the move to Tampa in 2011.

He started out making paper collages and was an early adopter of digital technology as an artistic tool.

“That allowed him to add depth and a lot more layers to his work,” said Mary Rezny, who represented Wing at her recently closed MS Rezny Gallery + Studio after his return from Florida. “Some of his later images could have as many as 200 layers. He also made mandalas and found-object assemblages. His artistry and craftsmanship were phenomenal.”

Wing’s most recent exhibit at the Rezny gallery, last year, featured personas he described as “altered egos,” and a second group he called guardian angels. The angels were based on a collection of tintypes he imagined as the relatives or neighbors of the Wing family, which settled in Cape Cod in the 1620s.

“I have personal experiences of being comforted by angels,” he wrote in an artist’s statement. “Can you find a guardian angel here to watch over you and your home?”

Wing is survived by his wife; three daughters, Julie Wing, Lori Eades and Christine Curry; two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 5:08 PM.