about.

Artist | Biologist| Feminist 

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STATEMENT: ​​

Nature and women have been commodified, controlled, and silenced. Despite this, it is their resilience and regeneration that is their source of immense strength. I firmly believe that the environment, animals and the female experience are deeply intertwined. All are shaped, defined, and constrained by patriarchal and capitalist systems. 

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In this new body of work, these connections emerge clearly. These dual forces—nature and womanhood—flow through my work, bringing awareness to the ways in which both are impacted by the same societal forces. While considering ritual artifacts and the histories of found objects; I am connecting with my native American [Susquehannock] heritage; but also examining my ambivalence of organized religion [Catholic] shaped by both a recognition of its cultural significance and a critique of its institutional structures and doctrines —alongside other social institutions.

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The materials I use—such as natural fibers like burlap and jute, alongside industrial elements like colored plexiglass and found objects—speak to this fusion of the ancestral and the contemporary. The use of natural fibers grounds my work in the earth, honoring the legacy of my ancestors and their connection to the land. Meanwhile, the industrial elements symbolize the modern world and the ways in which we are often distanced from that connection to nature. This blending of materials serves as a visual metaphor for the tension between the traditional and the modern, the natural and the artificial, as well as the enduring, yet evolving, role of women in society.

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BIOGRAPHY

Born: Clearfield, PA

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Diane Arrieta was born and raised in Pennsylvania, where her upbringing in Oil City - a town with a rich history as a former Seneca Indian Village turned center for the petroleum industry - greatly influenced her beliefs and subsequently, her art practice. Arrieta's heritage as a Native American and descendant of European immigrant farmers from Czechoslovakia shaped her perspectives on nature and environmental stewardship from a young age.

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Having obtained a BFA in ceramic sculpture and an MSc in Wildlife Health from

the University of Edinburgh, Arrieta's artwork primarily explores the impact of human activity on endangered species and champions the role of women and children in society. Her work has been exhibited extensively across the United

States and the United Kingdom, with notable showcases at prominent museums

such as the Cornell Museum of Art, The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, The

Boca Raton Museum, and the Museum of Fine Art Tallahassee.

 

Arrieta has received numerous accolades, including the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship Grant and the Hector Ubertalli Award for the Visual Arts. In addition to serving on public art committees and running a University exhibition program, she is also the founding Director of the International Humanities Project Curatorial Lab. Arrieta's main art studio is located in Palm Beach, FL.

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Education:​

MSc   Wildlife Health University of Edinburgh

         College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine                               

         United Kingdom

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BFA    Ceramic Sculpture Florida Atlantic University

          Boca Raton, FL 

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