SPOTLIGHT
DIANE LEON
Abstraction gives me a sense of freedom. The art I create is painterly and influenced by a sense of place. I grew up in New York City with exposure to museums and master paintings. At the same time, I lived in an old tenement building which overlooked the Third Avenue El train. The textures of the deteriorated tenement walls became infused in my work later in life. In 1970 Spain became my passion. The vast openness of the sky, sea, light has had a profound affect upon me. My abstract works begins in a chaotic manner. There is no preconceived idea. As I work, color and surface texture create a feeling. From that point the painting takes on a life of its own. The work is completed when I have exhausted a series of revisions that I ‘feel’ the work is finished. My formal art training at the Art Students League and other New York schools gave me a solid foundation. The artwork I create is a result of decades of internalizing the Mediterranean culture. My abstract work represents imagination, personal experience and cultural traditions. The Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Visigoths, Celtiberians, Romans and Moors have made Spain a fascinating place to contemplate who I am. I teach studio art at New York University, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, as an adjunct associate professor of arts in the undergraduate liberal arts division. I share my life with artist, John Ferdico and maintain an apartment in Spain.
Contact:Diane Leon: DL4@nyu.edu
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