Diana Nadia Lawryshyn
Ribbons
Graduating Music and Art Collection
Influenced by raw materials, the arrangements of brushstrokes and sound aim to unveil the subtle interconnectedness of the natural world. I encourage you to embrace a shift in perspective with each interaction, much like the ever-changing dance of ribbons in the wind, where no flutter is quite the same twice.
This collection premiered on March 26, 2024, at Hart House, as a culminating project for Diana’s Master of Music Degree at the University of Toronto.
“Kobzar” | Acrylic on Wood Panel | 30” x 40”
September 2023
“Faces” | Acrylic on Reclaimed Wood Panel | 30” x 40”
March 2024
“Wetlands” | Acrylic on Wood Panel | 50” x 60”
November 2023
“Subotiv” | 9” x 34”
January 2024
“Ribbons” | Acrylic on Wood Panel | 26” x 30”
February 2024
“Graphic Notation” | Acrylic on Tan-Toned Paper | 24” x 30”
August 2023
Sketches
Small-scale studies
“Wildflowers” | Acrylic on Venner | 14” x 14”
May 2024
“Spirit” | Pencil Crayon on Veneer |
12” x 8” March 2024
“DANCE” | Pencil Crayon on Veneer |
12” x 7” March 2024
“Chorus” | Pencil Crayon on Veneer | 9" x 14”
March 2024
“String Quartet” | Pencil Crayon on Veneer | 10” x 14”
March 2024
Artist Statement
Guided by the entropy of natural materials, I aim to unveil life’s beauty and interconnectedness amidst its chaos, and encourage viewers to embrace this shift in perspective as they interact with my work.
My process begins with contemplation of a topic. Then, selecting wood as the surface, I surrender my brush to the pattern of the grain, resulting in an expression of what’s simultaneously hidden within the material and my subconscious.
Before materializing as visual art, my process emerged as an electroacoustic composition strategy involving careful layering of sound samples over field recordings. This musical background manifests as linear brushwork throughout my paintings, reflecting the repetitive and tremulous quality of musical patterns, soundwaves, and vibrations.
Regardless of medium, my art only develops if I surrender authority to my materials, akin to Renaissance artist, Michelangelo, who “saw the angel in the marble and carved until [he] set him free.”
Bio
Diana Nadia Lawryshyn is a visual and sound artist from Oshawa Ontario known for painting on wood surfaces and composing music with field recordings. Central to her practice is a willingness to let materials guide her, facilitating an organic expression of what lies dormant in her subconscious.
Diana holds a Bachelor of Arts and Education from Queen's University and a Master of Music from the University of Toronto. During her master’s studies, her sound composition technique unexpectedly transitioned to painting through fine art elective courses. Her work has exhibited at Blackwood Gallery, Hart House, Station Gallery, and Robert McLaughlin Gallery, among others. She has received several awards, including "Best in Show" at the Cultural Expressions - Durham Juried Exhibition, "People’s Choice" at the Station Gallery’s Annual Juried Exhibition, and an "Award of Excellence" at Oshawa Art Association’s Annual Juried Exhibition. Diana has also received an "Oshawa Culture Counts" Emerging Artist award.
