In a stylistic amalgam of Pop and folk, abstract and figurative, Diana Rosa takes inspirations from an alternative upbringing where she closely connected with the natural landscape around her. Born and raised in Cuba shaped her perspective on nature and how humans interact with land, animals and each other. She employed a Naïve Folk-Art style to explore questions of identity, love, relationship and environment in our society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. She makes personal women’s experiences serious subjects for art, but because of their intense emotional content, her paintings transcend boundaries by their powerful and intimate narratives. Greatly influenced by modern masters from Cezanne, Henri Matisse to Frida Kahlo
Now living in an urban environment in Ontario, Canada, Diana aims to show our relationship to the world around us through the versatile medium of acrylic paint. She uses sharp brush strokes, contrasting textures, and a variety of acrylic mediums, commenting on our human emotions. Diana Rosa received her Bachelor of Art in Art History at the Oriente University, Cuba (1989-1994) and worked as a curator at the Contemporary Art Centre in Holguin, Cuba (1994-2000). Also, she completed the course Modern Art and Ideas, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2016) online learning and Art History: Renaissance Art to Present, Sotheby’s’ Institute of Art, New York (2019) online learning.
Her work has been included in many publications and online periodicals such as Home and décor magazine, The Brampton Guardian Newspaper, Now Magazine, Toronto and Toronto Life Magazine. Diana is a full-time studio artist, exhibiting her work in Art Fairs, galleries and museums nationally, and internationally.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I am always fascinated with the human story that all of us are living- often untold, sometimes unrecognized, but always significant. My paintings reflect the natural beauty of human emotions. They are a bridge from my imagination to theirs, and although the story I mean to tell may differ from what the viewer ultimately takes away, what is most important is that we have shared the tale.
Elegance and sensuality is combining with spirituality in a contemplative surreal environment. I explore the human dimension: themes of the real and virtual world, a nostalgic state of adaptation. Adapting to survive like succulent plants in unfavorable environment and conditions, expecting a change to occur. I strive to draw honest and intriguing lines, to investigate the beautiful, as well as the odd, and to illuminate the common in an environment of graphic symbols and layered patterns.
I create a visual dialogue where everything is possible and magic is the queen. Humans, animals, and plants are some of the themes that I use in my drawings, a subtle injection of ambiguity that blurs the gap between the ordinary and the fantastic.
The background of this sub-world appears to be transformed into an innocent children’s fantasy that almost looks like a dream.
When creating a piece, I take what is most personal and assume it is universal. I use my own experiences and emotional responses, and turns them into a narrative work that suggests to the viewer a peek into their own life. The stories I tell are about inner worlds revealed - the things that we are supposed to talk and feel, about our bodies, our families, and our life’s choices
All elements drive my creativity along with a light touch of the paintbrush, feeling of peace and sense of a place. I strive to re-create the peaceful, contemporary landscape in my art to expand upon the beautiful palette that nature provides us.
I appreciate the human form and the emotions within, so I explore acrylic mediums to convey the limitless individuality the human form embodies. I think of my drawings as portraits of a soul, not an actual person–pulling from the universal level instead of our clouded worldly view. They are more than their surface, much like us. They are my perspective and appreciation of who I am and what I know: a woman who embraces adaptation in a virtual world.
