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Community Corner

Gallery Opening- Diane Thodos, Forces of Life: Lyricism & Requiem


Painter and printmaker Diane Thodos has always felt drawn to the expressionist art movements of the Modernist era - most specifically to Abstract Expressionism from the 1940’s - 1950’s and German Expressionism from 1906 – 1924.  Her paintings and prints embody two different aspects – a drive towards the lyrical, and an opposite one towards the tragic.  For her, figure and abstraction create a fertile ground for ever-new compositional and emotionally expressive possibilities.  

Earning her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1989, Thodos was mentored early on by Donald Kuspit, an iconic New York art critic and intellectual who inspired her to delve deeply into the world of Expressionism.  She was further inspired by the powerful graphic techniques of the German Expressionists after a fateful meeting with owners of an immense private collection of such works in 1992.  Over the course of two decades, she has been granted access to the collection for self-study,  and her paintings and woodblock prints reflect both style and technical techniques of bygone Expressionist masters.   Like many noted American Abstract Expressionists of our time, Thodos also studied with Stanley William Hayter, who revealed the importance of  subconscious imagery  through the use of automatic gesture or automatism.  

Of her new one-woman exhibit at Re-invent,  Thodos states,  “I feel that our current culture is undergoing a period of both upheaval and uncertainty.    This is why the tragic aspect of my work attempts to distill states of feeling that are essential and direct in their expression.   My lyrical work represents an equal and opposing life force…In this exhibit, you will see the opposite poles of life and death, lyricism and tragedy, abstraction and figure.”

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Re-invent gallery co-owner Cecilia Lanyon said,  “Diane is a significant artist among American Abstract Expressionists today, who has exhibited nationally and internationally.  We are honored to showcase her works through this exhibit, from her life-infused paintings to her most intricate woodblock prints.”

The show’s Opening Night Celebration is April 18, 6-9  Visit reinventlf.com or call 224-544-5961.

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