Diane Feissel

Feb 5, 2009

Topic: Arts | Tags: , ,

w28_diane

Diane Feissel just sounds like one of those people you want to send a day with. She oil paints on fabric with impressive technical ability, enjoys bathroom graphics and frequents the Carolina Roller Derby. “Mostly, though, when watching the roller derby, it gives me the urge to find some good old-fashioned skates (NOT roller *blades*, tried that, I’m clearly not meant for rolling along ‘in-line’) and skating around on my own,” says Feissel. “I’m not remotely brave enough to ever try the derby, though, I’ve already learned many times over that I am a fragile, prissy person, disinclined toward any activity which might risk – or, in this case, openly court – bodily injury. I’d prefer to skate around solo… that’s just how I roll.”

The woman is rather modest considering her natural ability and local success. She recently won a third place award at the annual Visual Art Exchange fundraiser, but kept her speech to a simple summary, “groovy”. Her Fabrication series look like she talks – contradictory and humorous, with peaceful background patterns that play with the notion of classicism. They’re only mildly different from her early work that strictly utilized oil on canvas and portrayed human heads, bald of course, with mouths agape and eyes that sucked in the environment. Thats not to say that she doesn’t have a wide style range, she is quite often commissioned for serious family portraiture, but even those images have a ghost-like air to them. Almost as if Diane dares to suggest that her subjects are not as clean cut as they appear and I harbor a special love for faces that are contorted, destroyed or out of focus anyways.

Diane Feissel work is headlining the Visual Arts Exchange’s February exhibit titled Punchline set to open tomorrow night in Raleigh during the first Friday art walk. Remember, “February is the month to giggle, chuckle, smirk, and smile… Punchline showcases humorous and satirical art”. Come ready, they sound pretty serious.

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