about.

Artist | Biologist| Feminist 

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STATEMENT: ​​

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At the heart of my practice lies the intricate connection between environmental change and feminist resistance, two forces shaping the shifting landscape of our world. I engage with critical narratives that expose ecological degradation alongside enduring patriarchal inequities, recognizing their profound entanglement within our bodies, histories, and ecosystems.

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My chosen materials articulate these tensions. Grounding my work in earthy, ancestral elements like clay, jute, and burlap, I honor the deep connections to soil, memory, and the labor of generations past. This tactile reverence for land and lineage finds contrast in the sharp presence of industrial materials—colored plexiglass, steel, and salvaged urban debris—which speak to our modern rupture with nature and the systems that commodify both the environment and women.

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This material dialogue—organic and artificial, traditional and modern, yielding and resilient—becomes a visual metaphor for the evolving agency of women. No longer relegated to the margins, they emerge as central figures actively navigating and reshaping our precarious present.

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My background in Wildlife and Ecosystems Health provides a scientific foundation for understanding of ecological shifts and systemic imbalances, particularly the plight of endangered species. Their vulnerability serves as a powerful symbol of intertwined biological and cultural loss, positioning my art as a space for critical inquiry, impassioned advocacy, and the active reimagining of resistance.

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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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