Artist Statement

I see myself as a shapeshifter of colour and form, through which I explore relationships and connections. 

Based in Bundjalung country, Byron Bay, on the eastern most point of Australia, I am a visual artist, dabbling in the world of abstract mark-making. My eyes are drawn to the spaces between things or the shapes that different forms create. My practice is founded in my love and understanding of colour, using visual forms from my imagination, subconscious and daily environment in collage, paintings and wall assemblages. 

For me abstraction is a curious endeavour and my work is always open to interpretation by the viewer. One can be moved by an abstract work, but not understand why. As the elements are illusive and non-tangible it’s hard to understand or express why you are drawn to it. I love that. Everyone will see something different in a piece I make, and I feel that’s part of my job as an artist.

I trust in myself and my connection to the work and to the spiritual, and I invite the viewer to complete that circle of connection by engaging with the work and giving it their own meaning.

Within the studio I am interested in the deconstructing and reassembling of elements within my collage and painting practice. I engage in a continuous process of adding and taking away. Sometimes I’ll be inspired to make a painting in response to a collage or sketch I have made and love, but for the most part I feel like inspiration comes as I engage in the act of making, engrossed in my process.

Upcoming Shows and Projects

3 person show at Art Kind, Byron Bay, August/September 2024

Large Scale mural project, Brisbane, September 2024

Biography

Diana and her husband Todd were first featured on tv 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 winning 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. Diana 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 and 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