Diana Freedman-Shea paints cityscapes and landscapes, frequently viewed from above. This perspective evolved from a childhood fascination with viewing the city from the vantage point of the roof of her Brooklyn apartment. There, noting the changes in the seasons and weather, she began to observe our relationship to nature and nature's relationship to humans and what we have built, a theme she explored for a decade.
The great Canaletto, a favorite artist, painted urban views capturing a consistent light cast on the 18th-century city of Venice, skies, architecture, and myriad of figures involved in their daily activities. Once a great civic achievement, Venice is now subject to pollution, floods from global warming, and debris from tourism; in essence, the despoiling of the planet. Freedman-Shea, enamored by the beautifully rendered figure compositions, appropriates them and places them in grid-like groupings juxtaposed with images of today's Venice. Once a formal exploration of light on city architecture, Freedman-Shae's involvement has evolved into a political message.
The theme of the negative human impact upon the natural world is also apparent in paintings of Elephants and etchings of Primates. Since the 1990s, she has been involved in protecting endangered species, either from poaching or the ecological imbalance from depleted natural resources. Although the narrative is different in this work, the same regard for nature and the formal elements of light, shape, relationships, and paint quality are consistent with her cityscapes and landscapes. The initial impetus is still observing and reorganizing the visual world with awareness of the interchange between the human and natural world.
Freedman-Shea was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and lives and works in New York City. She holds an MFA degree from Brooklyn College and a BFA degree from Pratt Institute. (Brooklyn, New York). A product of the New York City Schools, she also taught in the public high schools for over 30 years. She has maintained a studio practice throughout and completed notable residencies at The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Millay Colony, Woodstock Art School, Cummington Center for the Arts, and Wassard Elea in Cilento, Italy. Freedman-Shea's work has been exhibited in solo shows at the Prince Street Gallery, Noho Gallery, The Interchurch Center (all in New York, New York). Paintings and etchings have been included in group exhibitions in notable institutions such as the Minnesota Museum, The Hammond Museum, The Carriage Barn, The Katonah Gallery, St Peter's Church, The Mesa Art Center, Albright Knox Museum, Flinn Gallery, The Pfizer Corporation, Broome Street Gallery, Iona College, Taller Boriqua, The Atrium on Park Avenue, and many other venues. She was President of the New York Society of Women Artists from 2017-2021.