Diane Szczepaniak
Contact Information
Phone: 301-983-4310
Gallery
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.
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In Memoriam
Painting
Sculpture & 3D
Archived Work
Artist's Statement
From my early training as a sculptor and welder, I have been guided by the dynamics of form. In my paintings, form emerges from color as I apply thousands of translucent layers of watercolor paint. I put red over blue, blue over red, sometimes yellow over everything all the while looking through the painting as through a sheet of glass until I sense something holding still and expectant/ready in the piece. Colors naturally hold symbolism for me, and I have painted in response to images from poems I find mysterious, feelings roused by music, that familiar experience Wallace Stevens calls “passions in rain, or moods in falling snow,” and even meditations on thoughts. The paintings from my Works series have offered me an especially resonant field for such explorations. At the same time, I do not think simply in terms of color, but through color. As the divergent layers of paint multiply, they move beyond the visual and symbolic, challenging me by slipping along the color wheel and deepening into a widening pool of still light under my brush.
Light is the principle behind my Folding Panel sculptures as well. These free standing sculptures are made of wood and sheet metal whose flat surfaces stand at angles to each other. Light moves along the subtle scratches of polished metal and reflect within the theater of the piece. I envision some of them, built on a larger scale, as actual fountains along whose surfaces thin sheets of water might run.
By training myself to see flat surfaces as energetic space, I have worked to realize and share the invisible distances that are often crowded out in our increasingly efficient, light-saturated, and networked lives. The flat surface in art has not, however, stopped being a mystery, and I hope to continue working my way towards it and bring viewers into its strange and irresistible reaches.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2004
Non-Sensory Perception of Form, Dumbarton Concert Gallery, Washington, DC
2002
In Pursuit of Form, Xavier University Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
1998
Watercolors, Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Washington, DC
1997
Abstracted Space, Arts Club of Washington, Washington, DC
1985
Painting and Sculpture, Merchant’s Gallery, Inc. Cincinnati, OH
1984
Painting and Sculpture, Merchant’s Gallery, Inc. Cincinnati, OH
1981
The Figure, S.S. Cyril & Methodius Seminary, Orchard Lake, MI
Two-person
2005
Inbetweenness, Black Rock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD
1995
Paper, Scissors, Rock, University of Cincinnati Medical School Library, Cincinnati, OH
Three-peron
1980
Transition of Three Artists, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY
Group
2011
Sondheim Semi-Finalist Exhibition, Decker/Meyerhoff Galleries, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
2010
Porous Borders, Washington Sculptor Group, Historical Society of Washington DC, Washington, DC
Curator: Jayme McLellan
gaps, Washington Sculptor Group, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA & IPAR
Curator: Vesela Sretenovic
2009
Courage Unmasked, Katzen Center, American University, Washington, DC
Idylls, Washington Project for the Arts, World Bank, Washington, DC
Curator: Andrea Pollan
Wild Women of Watercolor, Marlboro Gallery, Prince George’s Community College, Largo, MD
2008
22nd Annual Critics’ Residency, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
Curator: Robert Berlind
2007
Pre-Primed 2007, Washington Project for the Arts \Corcoran, Washington, DC
2006
Chromatic Conversations, Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA
Sculpture Unbound, Edison Place, Washington, DC, WPA\Corcoran & Washington Sculptors Group
Juror: Glenn Harper, editor of Sculpture Magazine
2005
Thick and Thin, Gumenick Family Gallery, Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, Richmond, VA
Curators: N. Elizabeth Schlatter and Gwen Van Ostern
SELECT III, 2005, Washington Project for the Arts\ Corcoran, Washington, DC
2002
Curator’s Choice Exhibition, Washington Project for the Arts\ Corcoran, Washington, DC
2001
Peace Exhibition, Anne C. Fisher Gallery, Washington, DC
2000
Works on Paper Show, New York Armory, New York, NY
Pinkard Gallery, Bunting Center, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
1999
Samson Fine Arts, New York, NY
22nd Annual Art on Paper Exhibition, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD
Judges Choice Award
Galerie Ingrid Cooper, North Bethesda, MD
1998
66th Annual Cumberland Valley Exhibition, Washington County Museum, Hagerstown, MD
Time Warner Building Gallery, New York, NY
Galerie Ingrid Cooper, North Bethesda, MD
1997
Intimate Objects, The Ralls Collection, Washington, DC
Galerie Ingrid Cooper, North Bethesda, MD
1996
Abstraction II, DOSHI Center for Contemporary Art, Harrisburg, PA
1995, 1994
Fresh Art Exhibition, Behringer-Crawford Museum, Covington, KY
1994
The Field, Michael Straw Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
1981 – 1985
Merchant’s Gallery, Inc. Cincinnati, OH
1981
Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Selected Bibliography
2008
Baltimore CityBeat, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2008
2005
Art Papers, Reviews, pg 46, July/August 2005
Style Weekly, Richmond, VA, April 27, 2005
2002
City Beat, Cincinnati, OH, October 11, 2002
2001
The Villager, New York, NY, May 23, 2001
Professional Experience
2011 – present
Member, Board of Directors, Washington Sculptor’s Group
1999 – present
Artistic Director/Screen Painter, Theatrical productions, Herbert Hoover Middle School, Potomac, MD
1993 – 1995
Drawing Instructor, Studio 620, Cincinnati, OH
1990 – 1991
Welding Instructor’s Associate, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
1985 – 1988
Membership Coordinator, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
1983 – 1985
Arts Education Coordinator & Drawing Instructor, Cincinnati Arts Consortium, Cincinnati, OH
1981 – 1984
Treasurer, Merchant’s Gallery, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Affiliations
Youngblood Fine Art, Sag Harbor, NY
Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; London, UK
Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Inliquid, Philadlephia, PA
Washington Sculptor’s Group, Washington, DC
Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC
Awards and Honors
2011
Semi-Finalist, Sondheim Prize, Baltimore, MD
2009
Individual Artist Award in Visual Arts: Sculpture from the Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore, MD
2005
Semi-Finalist for the Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, Bethesda, MD
2001
Ulric Bell Memorial Award, New York, NY
Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Annual, Philadelphia, PA
1999
Judges Choice Award, Maryland Federation of Art Gallery on the Circle, Annapolis, MD
1997, 1999, 2000, 2001
Paintings Under Glass Award, Bruce Museum Art Festival, Greenwich, CT
1997
Best in Show Award, Arts Atlantica Exposition, Ocean City, MD
Lectures and Talks
1998
Lecture, “Watercolor painting techniques for art teachers,” Fairfax County Public School System, Fairfax, VA
Selected Collections
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Americans for the Arts, Washington, DC
St. Mary's College, St. Mary's City, MD
Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Washington, DC
New York Grand Hyatt, New York, NY
Orlando Hilton, Orlando, FL
Ritz Carlton, Dubai
Crystal City Hilton, Arlington, VA
San Diego Marriott Marina, San Diego, CA
MGM Project City Center, Los Angeles, CA
DC Four Seasons, Washington, DC
Education
1983
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
MA, Art Education
1981
Northern Kentucky University
BFA, Sculpture and Drawing
Northern Kentucky Vocational/Technical School
Welding Certification
1978
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, MI
BA, Economics
1978 – 1982
Michael Skop, (Ivan Mestrovic’s assistant), Kentucky,
Sculpture and drawing studio of sculptor
Recent Artist Member Mentions on InLiquid
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In Memory of Diane Szczepaniak
Diane Szczepaniak (1956-2019) was a vibrant force in the visual arts community and a cherished member of InLiquid since 2004. … See Full Post
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Chance Encounter Closing Reception @ Park Towne Place
Please join us for light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres on Tuesday, August 13th from 6 – 8pm for the closing … See Full Post
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Strictly Painting 12
MPA@ChainBridge: Strictly Painting 12 Now in its twelfth iteration, Strictly Painting is one of the region’s most important painting exhibitions, celebrating the depth … See Full Post
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Chance Encounter
Chance Encounter encompasses a collection of artists and artwork that embody a spirit of spontaneity, celebrating the unexpected. This element … See Full Post
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Diane Szczepaniak’s – The Montgomery County Public Arts Trust
The Montgomery County Public Arts Trust has acquired three watercolor paintings from Diane Szczepaniak’s “Dwelling Series” for their Contemporary Works on Paper Collection.
