Portraits: Up Close and Personal

• Saturday, Aug 19, 2023  5:30pm - 7:30pm Artist Reception
• Tue, Aug 1, 2023 - Thu, Aug 31, 2023  9am - 5pm On view

Sawyer Yards is proud to announce Portraits: Up Close and Personal, an exhibition of portrait works by Houston artist Diane Gelman. The exhibition will take place at the Silos at Sawyer Yards in the newly christened Gallery 300, in the Bay 300 section of the building. 

Gelman's paintings are almost three dimensional, and are composed of various unexpected layers and contrasting fields of texture. Her inventive artwork and creative approach are informed by exploring new techniques and materials, all the while mining the old ones. An established local artist, Gelman had a long career as a registered dietitian before discovering her passion for making art.  She completed the Certificate of Achievement porgram at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in 2012, and now works full time in her studio at (#119) at The Silos at Sawyer Yards.

The artist writes:

"My goal as a portrait painter is to create paintings that are compelling works of art, alive with the personality of both artist and subject.  My work is a celebration and affirmation of life.  Each portrait is an adventure, exploring the unique character and personality of the featured subjects. A deep interest in the human experience is key to my work. 

I especially enjoy adding collage elements (like paper, cardboard, string, found objects, metal leaf) to my portraits.  Collage adds vitality, whimsy, and a surreal aspect to a carefully crafted and rigorously composed painting.  My paintings are improvisations on realistic images fused onto fanciful and imaginative themes. I use additive and reductive processes in creating my work, removing or embellishing images, and often carving into them, to find the real, hidden story underneath each painting."