Artist Statement

I see myself as a shapeshifter of abstract forms, through which I explore and celebrate both the joy of colour and the inherent value in playfulness and connection. 

Based in Bundjalung country, Byron Bay, Australia, I dabble in the world of abstraction, through experimental mark-making in shape-based collage and painting as well as 3-dimensional constructed works in the form of wall assemblages.

My eyes are drawn to the spaces between objects or the shapes that different forms create when combined. My practice is founded in my love of colour and my instinctive ability to utilise it, creating from my imagination, the subconscious and my daily environment.

Within the studio the process of deconstructing, reassembling and layering is paramount to my practice, be it with cut shapes or paint on the canvas. I engage in a continuous process of adding and taking away and am transported into my work as I engage in the engrossed act of making.

After 2 decades of painting I have learnt to trust my instincts and my connection to the work and the spiritual, and I invite the viewer to complete that circle of connection by engaging with the work and giving it their own meaning.

Biography

Diana and her husband Todd were featured in an episode of Grand Designs, where they constructed one of the largest shipping container homes in the world. They made a sea-change to the Byron Bay hinterland in 2015 where they set up and started The Newrybar Merchants, a collective artisan-run initiative that was hugely successful.

After selling the business Diana completed her Contemporary Art Studies at the Byron School of Art, receiving the Graduate Award in 2018. She has exhibited extensively across Australia – Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Mullumbimby, Ballina and the Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah and has been awarded prizes in the c.a.s.e Postcard Show, Little Things Art Prize, The Rotary Art Spectacular, and The Lethbridge 10000. She has been a finalist in the Clayton Utz, Omnia and BAM Prizes and has created commissioned pieces for clients in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Japan and collaborated with Australian brands. She currently sells her paintings through Curatorial+Co. in Sydney.

Her work has been featured in several publications and magazines, including Elle Australia (2017), Real Living (2018), Home Beautiful (2018) multiple copies of Belle Magazine (2021, 2023), Australian House and Garden (2021), Inside Out (2022), The Local Project, design anthology (2023), Vogue Australia (2023).

Follow Diana on Instagram @dianamillerartist