About Diane
I am a mixed media artist, layering together images, designs, and colors. I often combine paint with collage elements, integrating the paint and collage to form a cohesive and complete whole. Collage is an assemblage of various small objects and forms, which sometimes include layers of paper, found objects, fabric, string, cardboard, or metal leaf. Collage enhances clarity, adds a sense of playfulness, vitality, and a surreal aspect to a carefully crafted, realistic painting. My paintings are improvisations on realistic images fused onto imaginative themes that are rich with light, color and detail. I like to paint innovative pop-art works, inspiring scenes from Nature, interesting people, children, and especially food! My work weaves together layers of designs, textures and meaning. I apply layers over layers, sometimes arranging, sometimes disarranging, gathering, surrounding, weaving, removing or embellishing images, and often carving back into them, to find the real, hidden story underneath each painting.
Much of my artwork is about food. I have been focused on food for my entire life: studying about it, writing about it, teaching it, creating it, sculpting it, and painting it. I am uniquely expert at exploring the interplay between art and food because I am both an artist and a Registered, Licensed Dietitian. My goal is to make food-based artwork that looks good enough to eat off of the canvas!
Diane Gelman received a Certificate in Painting from The Glassell Studio School of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 2012. Diane is also a Registered, Licensed Dietitian and has a Master’s degree in Nutrition from the University of Cincinnati. Diane is originally from Detroit, Michigan and currently lives in Bellaire, Texas (Houston area) with her husband. Diane had a solo food-based show, "FRESH!" in Gallery 200 at the Silos May- July 2018. She had a solo show at Kam’s Restaurant, Houston in 2017. Diane has shown work extensively with the Visual Arts Alliance of Houston, had a solo show of her work at Urban Eats Restaurant in Houston 2016, and was awarded the Frank Garriet’s Purchase Prize from the Beaumont Art League’s 2014 National 52nd annual Juried Exhibition and the Juror’s Choice Award in the Sugarland Art Center 2016 Juried Competition. Diane is a member of the Houston Art Connective.
CV
Education:
2012 Glassell School of Art - Houston, Certificate of Fine Arts in Painting
1976 – present Registered and Licensed Dietitian
1975 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio M.Ed. in Nutrition 1974 Ohio University, Athens, Ohio B.S. in Dietetics
Exhibition/Press Record
FRESH!, A Solo Show featuring Food, Gallery 200, May 12 – July 8, 2018, The Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston, Texas.
Real, Surreal Juried Exhibition, May 12- August 12, 2018, The Silos at Sawyer, Houston, Texas.
Paper City, April 23, 2018 Diane Gelman is cited as “emerging talents” in the article, Sawyer Yards is Throwing a Mega Art Party.
Ism , Kallinen Contemporary Gallery, March 31- April 28, 2018 Collective Works by the Silos Artists, November – January 2018, The Silos, Houston, Texas.
Art Car Museum 12th Open Call Ehibition, Trump This!, Houston, Texas September 9 – November 19, 2017
Visual Arts Alliance 12th Juried Invitational Exhibition, July 31- August 26, 2017. The Silos at Sawyer, Houston Texas
Solo show: Kam’s Restaurant, Houston Texas June 20 - August 8, 2017
Texas National Competition & Exhibition 2017, April 8 - June 10, 2017, Stephen F Austin University Art Gallery, Nacogdoches, Texas
France: In The Eye of the Beholder Juried Exhibition February 26, – April 1, 2017, The Silos, Houston, Texas.
The Silos Explored: A Collection of Works by Silos Artists, February 1 – March 11, 2017, The Silos, Houston, Texas.
Visual Arts Alliance 11th Annual Juried Invitational Exhibition, January 8 - February 4, 2017, The Silos, Houston, Texas.
Art Car Museum 11th Open Call Exhibition, “Lives Matter”, November 19 – January 29, 2017 Houston, Texas
Visual Arts Alliance 34th Juried Membership Exhibition, October 24- December 3, 2016. Spring Street Studios, Houston, Texas
Marilyn Dickey Open Second Annual Juried Competition, August 18 - September 13, 2016. Sugarland Art Center, Sugarland, Texas .“Save Room For Pie” was selected as Juror’s Choice.
Solo Exhibition of Recent Works, Urban Eats Restaurant, 3414 Washington Avenue, Houston. May 3 through August 30, 2016
Houston Chronicle, June 1, 2016,I am featured in an article, Bellaire Artist will display food related work at area bistro.
Visual Arts Alliance 10th Annual Juried Invitational Exhibition, Spring Street Studio August 15 - September 27, 2016
Visual Arts Alliance 9th Annual Juried Invitational Exhibition ,1600 Smith Street Gallery January 20- March 18, 2016
Visual Arts Alliance 33rd Juried Membership Exhibition ,1600 Smith Street Gallery September 23 – November 22, 2015
Visual Arts Alliance 8th Annual Invitational Exhibition, 1600 Smith Street Gallery May 27 – August 2, 2015
Assistance League of Houston Celebrates Texas Art, 2015 Show January 14 – February 27, 2015, Williams Tower
32nd Juried Membership Exhibition, Visual Arts Alliance, Smith Street Gallery, September 29- November 14, 2014
Beaumont Art League’s National 52nd Annual Juried Exhibition, May 3 – 24, 2014. My painting, “Galveston Gazing” won the Frank Garriet’s Purchase Prize Award.
Visual Arts Alliance 5th Juried Invitational Exhibition, Heritage Plaza, February 2 – April 19, 2014
Visual Arts Alliance 31st Juried Membership Exhibition, Smoith Street Gallery, October 4 – November 16, 2013
Art on the Avenue, Houston “A Bird’s Eye View” was chosen for the Juried Gallery November 14, 2013
Judged and Juried, East End Gallery, February 8 – 22, 2013
Visual Arts Alliance 30th Juried Membership Exhibition, Smith Street Gallery Received Award of Honorable Mention October 19 – December 1, 2012
Salon des Refuses, Gallery M Squared July 1 -9, 2011
Press
Houston Food Artist Creates a Wondrous Pastry Shop in Arts Advocate’s Own Home
Bryn Larsen, Houston arts advocate, and co-founder of Foto Relevance, recently commissioned Houston-based artist Diane Gelman to transform her butler’s pantry into Patisserie Larsen, a dreamy space filled with Gelman’s signature cakes and pastries
Bellaire artist will display food-related work at area bistro
"Gelman's display of 60 works includes many depictions of sweets for the palate, said the Bellaire artist, a self-described "foodie" who followed a master's degree in food and nutrition from the University of Cincinnati in 1975 with a certificate of fine arts from The Glassell School of Art in 2012."