“Through vibrant colour and myriad forms of life, I attempt to present a unique view of the underwater world beyond the Newfoundland shoreline – the seabirds along its rocky cliffs and its bogs, forest and fields inland. The surface teems with details from the natural environment, but captures the duality of its fragility and durability under the harsh conditions on this edge of Canada. Through direct observation of the environment, I build up a storehouse of experiences and memories – supported by reference photographs and scientific fact – that are the catalyst for my paintings.”

Diana Dabinett was born in Zimbabwe in 1943. After completing a BFA and Secondary Teacher’s Diploma in Cape Town, she taught in high schools in Zimbabwe and England before moving to London, Ontario, in 1969 to become assistant curator at the Art Gallery of London. In 1975, Diana moved to Newfoundland and Labrador and since then she has maintained a fulltime professional studio art practise from her home and studio in Shoe Cove and her new studio in St John’s. She has exhibited in over 70 solo and group exhibitions, has her work in many local and international private and public collections including that of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2018 she was awarded the ArtsNL Artists’ Achievement Award.

Kym Greeley resides in St John’s where she maintains her studio art practise. As a member of St. Michael’s Printshop, she both teaches screenprinting and produces her serigraph original prints.

Her paintings have been featured in prominent group exhibitions including the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), and featured in such publications as The Painting Project, Folklore and Other Panics, Canadian Art Magazine, Visual Arts News and Future Possible. Greeley’s work is found in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, Global Affairs Canada, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Provincial Art Bank Collections, as well as in many corporate and private collections across Canada, USA, UK and Germany. The International Atlantic Residency Exchange has awarded Greeley a one-month artist residency at ArtLink, Fort Dunree in Donegal, Ireland, beginning this September 2022.
Dabinett’s Wind and Water and Greeley’s New Paintings + Serigraphs continues at Christina Parker Gallery until September 17.
[Images: from Dabinett, Waterwitch Waterfall (2011), With the Light Comes the Wind (2021); from Greeley, Don’t Let Me Go (2021), Nothing Means Anything (2022)]