Poetry

I love the way these two images interact.  I have been looking at them both together on the studio wall for a month now, and I enjoy them so much I thought I'd share them as a pair.  On the left is my oil painting, Shimmering Air.  On the right, is a photo collage from a 2014 calendar, called Tao (published by Amber Lotus Publishing).  Although my grid painting has the rigid elements of geometry, it still floats and shimmers, much like the reflection of the winter branches in the water in the photograph.  I also enjoy how the calligraphic elements in the photo collage mirror the grid composition of the painting.

At this time of reflection, at the end of the year, I would like to wish all of you a very blessed 2015.

Holiday Exhibition

Space Gallery presents 'The 12 Inches of Christmas Holiday Extravaganza!' The exhibition will feature more than 30 established artists, each producing a mini-series in a 12"x12" format. Part giant art show, part epic holiday party. Please join us as we kick-off the holiday season with good cheer and fun!

Artists Include: Marks Aardsma, Patricia Aaron, Kate Beck, Tonia Bonnell, Michael Burnett, Judy Campbell, Diane Cionni, Jeff Curry, Ryan David, Haze Diedrich, Jana Diedrich, Sophia Dixon Dillo, Graeme Duncan, Miguel Edwards, Marcus Fitzgibbons, Sarah Fox, Carlene Frances, Jason Lee Gimbel, Jane Guthridge, Howard Hersh, Scott Holdeman, Jeff Juhlin, Nancy Koenigsberg, Diane McGregor, Ian McLaughlin, Conor O'Donnell, Corey Postiglione, Lisa Purdy, Mike Rand, David Sawyer, Karen Scharer, Marleen Seckendorf, Steve Shachtman, Betsy Stewart, Sharon Swidler, Laura Wait, John Wood, and Anya Zuckerberg.

The exhibition will run from December 2, 2014 to January 24, 2015.  There will be an opening reception on Tuesday evening, December 9th, 6:00-10:00pm. 

Four of my paintings from the Winter Poem series will be on view.  Hope to see you at the reception!

Diane McGregor, Winter Poem 1-4, oil on canvas, 12x12 inches each

Collaboration

The recent Surface exhibition at Space Gallery in Denver was beautifully installed.  The curator of the gallery happened to hang my paintings, Drift 1 - 4, in a vertical stack, instead of the long horizontal line I had originally envisioned.  The dimensions of this stack are 36 inches wide by approximately 58 inches high. I think this presentation gives the series a new interpretation from what I had intended and, in fact, I love this stacked grouping.  I feel as though the curator, Michael Burnett, has collaborated with me on an entirely singular piece!

The exhibition closes on November 1st, so if you happen to be in Denver please visit the gallery and enjoy the show.

SURFACE at Space Gallery in Denver

Space Gallery will be presenting a group exhibition entitled, SURFACE, opening Friday, September 26th.  There will be a reception for the artists on September 26th from 6:00-9:00pm. In addition to my work, this show will feature work from nine other artists: Jo Marks Aardsma, Tonia Bonnell, Michael Burnett, Nancy Charak, Sophia Dixon Dillo, Carlene Frances, Susan Gibbons, Nancy Koenigsberg, and Sharon Swidler.  SURFACE is the fifth installment of the "Art of the Real" series of exhibitions, curated by Jo Marks Aardsma.

From Space's website: "This exhibit interests itself in the 'non-objective': art that is not representational, that contains no recognizable figures or objects, art that has no intentional derivation from any concrete matter. The work for this show was selected because each artist uses the surface as a crucial element beyond a vehicle on which to apply a medium….either revealing what is behind/under the surface or concealing/altering/manipulating the surface itself and in a palette of white, black, gray, or neutral."

The four paintings from my Drift series were specifically created for this installation. The show will be up through November 1st, 2014. I hope you'll have a chance to visit the exhibition.

Diane McGregor, Drift 4, 2014, oil on canvas, 12 x 36 inches

ART[s]UP=SALON in Galisteo, New Mexico

You are cordially invited to the first event of Shaun Gilmore's art and culture salon, featuring "A Conversation," an exhibit of work by the Lady Minimalists, plus a champagne brunch and talk with the artists.  This event will be held on Sunday, July 20th at Shaun's wonderful, light-filled studio. If you are interested, please contact her directly at shaun@shaungilmorestudio.com. 

"A Conversation" will include artwork by each of the Lady Minimalists, plus a nine-part collaborative painting that was created especially for ART[s]UP=SALON.  With each collaboration we become more excited about working together and more amazed at how our individual contributions complement each other.  Please come and see!  The exhibit will be up through the summer, with various events scheduled, or you can arrange an appointment with Shaun. 

Some of the artists' work featured in the show:

Shaun Gilmore

Dara Mark

Diane McGregor

Danielle Shelley

Signe Stuart

Janice Wall

The Drift Series

I am currently working on paintings for a show in September at the new Space Gallery in Denver.  The installation will be four paintings, all 12x36 inches, hung in a line stretching to about 20 feet.  The first two paintings are finished; two more are currently in progress.

Diane McGregor, Drift, 2014, oil on canvas, 12 x 36 inches

Diane McGregor, Drift 2, oil on canvas, 12 x 36 inches

A close-up of Drift 2 in progress

The new building for Space Gallery is in downtown Denver, in the Santa Fe Arts District, near the major contemporary museums and galleries.  The story of the gallery and its unique architecture can be read here. 

The new Space Gallery building, designed by Owen Beard of Solid Design, Denver

City Grid/Urban Patterns

SMINK Fine Art in Dallas will be presenting a new exhibition about the grid, entitled "City Grid/Urban Patterns." It opens Saturday, May 17th, with a reception from 5-8pm.

Two of my paintings, Sunyata (Emptiness) and Ming will be on display.  Also included will be work by Kathryn Clark, Dennis Ekstedt, Timothy Hearsum, and Thel.

For more information, please visit SMINK's website: http://www.sminkinc.com/Fine-Art

Diane McGregor, Ming, oil on canvas, 18 x 18 inches

Diane McGregor, Sunyata (Emptiness), oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches

New Website

Diane McGregor, Terrain 5, oil on canvas, 12x12 inches

I am very pleased to announce that I have designed and created a new website for my grid paintings.  I feel this new site enhances the minimalist aesthetic of my work.  Please take a look at dianemcgregor.com.  There is a scroll bar at the bottom with featured paintings, and you can click on the thumbnail above the scroll bar to get large versions of each painting.  Arrows to the right and left of the enlarged image will point you to the next painting in the portfolio. There is a place on the contact page to share your email address with me if you are interested in being on my mailing list.  Thank you!

Vibrations of the Infinite

Using the outer light, return to insight.  ~ Tao Te Ching

Diane McGregor, Vibration II, graphite on paper, 2x6 inches

 

 Those spaces between, 

however narrow, 

finite but possessing 

the clearest sense of infinitude, 

they reverberate, 

separate, 

clarify. 

The spaces between seconds, 

in negative rhythm, 

the substance of time. 

Those moments between 

glances,

 between the connection 

and the shuttering of eyes.  

~ Michael Boiano

True Meditation

Diane McGregor, Meditation I, graphite on paper, 6.5 x 3 inches

"In true meditation the emphasis is on being awareness: not on being aware of objects, but on resting as primordial awareness itself.... Silence and stillness are not states and therefore cannot be produced or created. Silence is the non-state in which all states arise and subside.... Silence itself is the eternal witness without form or attributes. As you rest more profoundly as the witness, all objects take on their natural functionality, and awareness becomes free of the mind's compulsive contractions and identifications, and returns to its natural non-state of Presence." ~ Adyashanti, from True Meditation.

 

Surfacing

Diane McGregor, Surfacing I, graphite on paper, 2.25x6 inches

Diane McGregor, Surfacing II, graphite on paper, 2.25x6 inches

I am working on several new series of panoramic abstractions.  Although the image says to the viewer's brain, "This is landscape," in reality these images are coming from deep within me and don't reference any landscape objective. These two drawings are part of a series of 10.  I'm also working on several oil paintings within this panoramic format.  One series currently in progress consists of 5 oil on canvas paintings measuring 12x36 inches each.  I'm very excited about the spiritual and psychological potential of this work. I am allowing the images to emerge from a still point of concentration. Continuing with my exploration of the grid,  the images are built up from horizontal and vertical strokes of graphite. A friend called this work "silent grids," and I rather like that definition.  The underlying structure of the imagery is a grid, yet the end result is very fluid and organic. I am using the same technique with the oil paintings as well -- each layer of paint is added by applying vertical and horizontal brushstrokes, evoking light and shadow, form and substance, without leaving any boundary traces or definitive edges.

Poetry, Time, and a New Year

 

Emanation III, oil on canvas, 29 x 22 inches,  © Diane McGregor

What we look for beyond seeing
And call the unseen,
Listen for beyond hearing
And call the unheard,
Grasp for beyond reaching
And call the withheld,
Merge beyond understanding
In a oneness
Which does not merely rise and give light,
Does not merely set and leave darkness,
But forever sends forth a succession of living things as mysterious
As the unbegotten existence to which they return.
That is why men have called them empty phenomena,
Meaningless images,
In a mirage
With no face to meet,
No back to follow.
Yet one who is anciently aware of existence
Is a master of every moment,
Feels no break since time beyond time
In the way life flows.

                ~ Lao Tzu, Number 14, Tao Te Ching (translated by Witter Bynner)


I enjoy collecting different translations of the Tao Te Ching.  I am always interested in how various scholars reveal the hidden gems in this widely published classic. I recently came across this translation by Witter Bynner, and I loved it.  I was surprised to learn that he was a Santa Fe poet.  He was famous for hosting large parties attended by artistic and literary celebrities such as D.H. Lawrence, Willa Cather, Ansel Adams, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Frost, Aldous Huxley, and W.H. Auden, among many others.  His historic home is now open to the public as a bed and breakfast inn located in downtown Santa Fe.

Wishing all of my readers a transformative 2014!