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DIANA FREEDMAN-SHEA
Painter
Sixteen Quotes
Oil on Canvas (All 12 X 12 inches) © Diana Freedman-Shea |
This project was inspired by
Canaletto’s [a.k.a. Giovanni Antonio Canal; 1697-1768] paintings of civic life in Venice as well as how the life of its citizens today is eclipsed by tourism and threatened by global warming. "I became interested in Canaletto when I had a painting assignment from the Scenic Painters’ Union, and I needed to pay close attention to the groups of figures in Canaletto ‘s paintings. He was, in fact, a “scenic painter” for the theater. The small figures in the paintings suggest choreographed actors, whose gestures and clothing tell a whole story about civic life in Venice. I decided to “deconstruct” Canaletto, paying homage to his figures in 12 X 12 inch paintings, put together in another context." ~ Diana Freedman-Shea |
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Diana comments on how this series is meant to be seen and absorbed.
My paintings are to be seen in groups. I wanted to put Canaletto’s figures in another context. As satisfying as studying how the artist paints figures in light and shadow, whom he paints is equally important in civic life. Roustabouts, aristocrats, clergy, and families make up the fabric of the city. Curiously in today’s Venice, most of the tourists are dressed casually. The teachers on a budget trip are dressed pretty much like the those leaving their docked cruise ships (which are polluting the waters) with gifts of hand-blown glass to bring home. The groupings also emphasize sharp or subtle class distinctions as well as painting styles from the 18th century through abstraction. Contrasts are a theme in this series as well as a meditation on time. Viewers take from the work what they will; but, for me, nostalgia plays a less important role than foreboding. |
Then and Now (Sold)
Oil on Canvas (All 12 X 12 inches) © Diana Freedman-Shea |
A Closer Look...
What's Going On?
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Three Old Guys
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Shopping Then
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Dawn
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Rowing
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Mismatched; Like Night and Day
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Diana first visited Venice 30 years ago with her husband. They explored museums and churches, the islands and the beaches, with and without guides. They knew little of the “real" Venice. It was 25 years later, that Diana visited again with a friend.
"I learned more about “the real” Venice through the mysteries of Donna Leon [American author], where bureaucratic red tape, drug trade, environmental destruction, pollution, sex trafficking, and exploitation of all kinds reveals a city suffering from the ills of our times. But as the great “La Serenissima” falls from grace (and into the sea), its ultimate destruction will be by global warming."
"I learned more about “the real” Venice through the mysteries of Donna Leon [American author], where bureaucratic red tape, drug trade, environmental destruction, pollution, sex trafficking, and exploitation of all kinds reveals a city suffering from the ills of our times. But as the great “La Serenissima” falls from grace (and into the sea), its ultimate destruction will be by global warming."
Three Washed-Up Old Guys
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Underwater Venice
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Cleaning Up the Mess
Oil on Canvas: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
Diana's summation of the series.
Certainly this series is a celebration of eighteenth century Venice - idealized and not. Tourism today sustains Venice economically, but the rainboots allude to the floods and high waters brought about by our environmental carelessness. The painter in me is blown away by the skill of this artist, and the tourist in me by the history and grandeur of the city. And yes, the environmentalist in me by the tragedy of destroying a great city and our planet.
Certainly this series is a celebration of eighteenth century Venice - idealized and not. Tourism today sustains Venice economically, but the rainboots allude to the floods and high waters brought about by our environmental carelessness. The painter in me is blown away by the skill of this artist, and the tourist in me by the history and grandeur of the city. And yes, the environmentalist in me by the tragedy of destroying a great city and our planet.
Diana Freedman-Shea
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Diana Freedman-Shea grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She earned a BFA degree from Pratt Institute and began teaching in New York City high schools when she was 21 years old. She later received an MFA degree from Brooklyn College and pursued a career in painting and printmaking while teaching full time. Her teaching schedule allowed her the opportunity to take advantage of artists’ residencies at the Millay Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Cummington Center for the Arts, the Woodstock Art School, and Wassard Elea in Cilento, Italy.
Diana was an art reviewer for ten years, thoroughly enjoying her engagement with other artists and their work. She retired from teaching at Stuyvesant High School in 2002 and has devoted herself to making art full time. Throughout her career, Diana explored representation with an eye to abstraction. Her subjects have included endangered animals, figures, cityscapes and landscapes, but her concentration was on the formal as well as the descriptive aspects of the work. Diana has exhibited her work at numerous acclaimed galleries and centers, including The Kennedy Gallery, NYC, Hammond Museum, Flinn Gallery, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Minnesota Museum, and George Billis Gallery, to name a few. Her work has been chosen for solo shows at the Noho Gallery and the Prince Street Gallery in Chelsea where she has been a member. She is a former president of the New York Society of Women Artists (NYSWA) and a member of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors and the New York Artists Circle. |
Clean Up
Charcoal and Paint: 12 X 12 inches © Diana Freedman-Shea |
EXHIBITIONS:
Virtual Prince Street Gallery "Shades of Black and White" March 2021 Taller Boricua (NYSWA) "Women On The Edge Of Time” March 2021 New York Artists Circle - "Fragile Earth" Prince Street Gallery April 2021 In Person Prince Street Gallery Opening Live Exhibition.- May 2021 |
