Diana Oliphant: Artist Statement

Diana Oliphant creates mixed media works depicting the tragedies that make civilized life possible. Fascinated with hypocrisy, duality and irony; they drive her creations.  She uses water as a resist to the acrylic spray paint; pouring water on the canvas, spray painting over it, and then wiping away the water leaving fluid organic shapes that she layers onto the canvas.  She then uses India ink to create pictorial images in shades of grey.    Her paintings depict landscapes altered to support an ever-growing urban population. Our landscapes have changed with civilization, once natural has become man made.  Process is crucial to each painting.  It is important to note the juxtaposition of materials; India ink, a traditional medium organic in nature, and spray paint, a man-made medium used mostly for street art and graffiti. Even in materials Diana strives to create works that will speak to everyone, creating conversation about the environment and civilization across racial, economic, and generational lines. 

 

About Diana Oliphant

At twenty-two Diana has been to twelve countries and has studied landscapes, among other works of art, at more than thirty museums across the U.S. and Europe.  After studying ecocide, developmental disorders, and the neurological affects of digital and chemical pollution at The Evergreen State Collage Diana began to work on her collection Disconnect: The Landscape Revisited. Her first duo exhibition was at The Evergreen Gallery in June 2010.  She donates many paintings to charity auctions and has done a number of commissioned art works.  She currently resides in Seattle and can be contacted at DOliphantArt@gmail.com.

 

Taos, New Mexico
Spray Paint and Reeves BFK
30"x40"
2011
$700

Shades of Grey 1
Spray paint, graphite, and conte
24"x12"
2011
$200

Shades of Grey 2
Spray paint, graphite, and acrylic paint
24"x12"
2011
$200