Among my favourite Lethbridge artists, Diana Zasadny has what promises to be an exciting new exhibition opening soon in the concourse gallery at Casa. Her control of colour was inspiring when I first saw her abstract paintings of our prairie landscape a decade ago. Those paintings are, in my opinion, both evocative and masterfully executed contemporary impressions of landscape.
I asked Diana about her upcoming show, Shadows From the Fire, a response in the aftermath of the devastating Kenow forest fire that ravaged Waterton National Park in 2017. In her use of new materials, Shadows from the Fire promises to be an innovative exhibition and Casa’s concourse gallery, with its vaulted, airy, space is perhaps a perfect venue for it.
In Diana Zasadny’s correspondence with me about the show, she noted that she was exploring new materials and methods specifically for Shadows From the Fire—among them, “the idea of wire sculpture as an alternate means of making a [large format] line drawing.” A trio of whitetail deer became her first wire sculpture. She also noted that, “Over 2018, I sketched and photographed the explosive super bloom of wildflowers at Waterton, making several trips to document the scene. In August, I took the opportunity to try another new method for me, cyanotype printing.”
Pictured here is a cyanotype detail. If you are like me—and need to run a google search to explain what a cyanotype is, Diana Zasadny’s new exhibition promises to be interesting. Follow this link to check out Diana’s own website https://www.dianazasadny.net
Shadows From
the Fire – New Work by Diana Zasadny
Casa Lethbridge
Concourse Gallery
April 27 – June 8, 2019
Opening reception
April 27, 7:00 – 9:00 pm