Diana Orving

Diana Oving, Installing Transcendence, exhibition at Galleri Arnstedt, 2021, photo Galleri Arnstedt

Diana Orving. Entourage, exhibition at Galleri Arnstedt, Sweden, 2021, photo Diana Orving

Container, blue, Transcendence, Entourage, exhibition at Galleri Arnstedt, Sweden, 2021, photo Diana Orving

Diana Orving, Await response, photo Erik Lefvander for The New Era Magazine, 2021

Diana Orving, Separation, photo Erik Lefvander for The New Era Magazine, 2021

Diana Orving, Observer, photo Erik Lefvander for The New Era Magazine, 2021

Diana Orving, Installing Transcendence, exhibition at Galleri Arnstedt, 2021, photo Galleri Arnstedt

Suspended Transcendence, holding Negotiation, photo Erik Lefvander for The New Era Magazine, 2021

Diana Orving, Transcendence, photo Erik Lefvander for The New Era Magazine, 2021

Diana Orving, Magical thinking, Exhibition at Varbergs Konsthall, Sweden, 2021 photo Nathalie Greppi

Diana Orving, The darkness is whiter, Exhibition at Nordiska Galleriet, Sweden, 2021 photo Pia Hylén

Diana Orving, Observer, Exhibition at Nordiska Galleriet, Sweden, 2021 photo Pia Hylén

STATEMENT

I understand form through my hands and look forward to the intersection where feeling and thought meet. I use form and movement to both express and understand states of mind, relationships, mental and physical processes. For me art is a spiritual tool and a language that sometimes communicates on a deeper and more instinctive level than words alone.

The creation process is a journey of exploration for me. I never decide on forehand exactly how a piece of art will turn out.  Key words in my art and my process are tactility, intuition, intimacy and movement. Working with my hands being in close contact with the material at hand is a kind of meditation to me. A repetitive ritual in assembling unique pieces bit by bit. The tactility sharpens my senses and keeps me present. I am quite obsessed with the tactile and sensual qualities of textiles. For me memories and feelings are closely connected to tactile sensations.

I am self-taught and developed my own techniques. I usually use fabrics that I process in different ways and make my own dyes and wash them in different ways so that they get a specific texture. Some of the works I paint with a brush and oil paint, I think of it as a kind of lighting where I choose to highlight certain parts and details of the work. I work mostly with high quality natural fibers like silk, cotton, hemp, wool and metalfibre sourced from dead-stocks, in order to use existing and recycled material in a sustainable way.

My creative process is heavily influenced by improvisation and intuition – a kind of choreography onto itself. I start small, assemble, cut the next piece of the puzzle, sew, wander astray, resist and yield. Discover a new shape that guides me on the way forward. The sculpture grows bit by bit in a chain reaction. The element of submission is essential in my practice. I create these large scale volumes. The larger they grow, the less in control am I. It is almost like creating a new organism that force me to cross boundaries and limitations.

The lightness of the textiles has made it possible for me to work on a large scale. I am fascinated by large formats, I find myself creating the conditions needed for me to lose control and be overpowered by my creations. In the loss of control, something exciting arises, the uncertain, unpredictable attracts me. There is a special state in the loss of control, a mixture of deep concentration, capitulation and curiosity. The element of submission is essential in my practice.

A theme that I return to in sculpture and sketches right now is the double feeling of longing for and the fear of belonging to others. To be connected with other human beings, ones family, the society. How our actions make impact on the world we live in. Many of the works I did the last years reflect my experience of pregnancy, giving birth and being a parent. I have always been very independent and with my parenting, the theme of being necessary in someone else’s life has taken a bigger place. How that necessity can be both limiting and beautiful at the same time. I work choreographically with my sculptures and I think that the sculpture can shape a relationship, a conflict, a fear or a longing. It can shape something that I have no words for but that I want to immerse myself in. A theme of interconnection, how to not be a solitary but part of a system, that you are a small part of something bigger.

Another recurring theme in my art is my fascination of the Fibonacci sequence, the mathematic formula that explain how the Golden ratio is found all around us in nature. In the seashell, the flower petals, tree branches, the eye of the storm and in the human body.

BIOGRAPHY / CV

Solo exhibitions

Nov  2021                    Galleri Arnstedt, Östra Karup

May  2021                     Närmanden, Varbergs Konsthall, Varberg

Apr  2021                     I rörelse, Nordiska Galleriet Art, Stockholm

Dec  2017                    Labyrinter, Dusty Deco, Stockholm

Oct 2012                      Mosaic, Galleri Bon, Stockholm

May  2011                     Spaces, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Stockholm

Group exhibitions in selection

Jun 2022                    Five tender days, WELD, Stockholm

May 2022                    Galleri Arnstedt, Östra Karup

Sep  2021                   Printed matters, The New Era Magazine, Galleri 22Stockholm

Feb  2020                   Art in Fashion, Sven Harrys Konstmuseum, Stockholm

Mar  2019                   Teatergrillen, Stockholm

Dec  2015                   Du är redan här, Rymd Konstrum, Stockholm

Sep  2015                   Utopian Bodies, Liljevalchs, Stockholm

Sep  2014                   Swedish fashion goes Paris, Institut Suédois, Paris

May  2014                   Svenskt mode 2000-1015, Sven Harrys Konstmuseum, Stockholm

May 2014                    Staged fashion- Designed Identities, Falkenbergs museum

Jun 2013                    Princesses, Sigtuna museum

Oct  2010                   NOTCH 2010, Beijng, China

Oct 2010                     Swedish Fashion, Exploring New Identities, Beijing, China

May 2010                    Swedish Fashion, Exploring New Identities, Shanghai World Expo, China

Sep  2010                   Correct me if I´m critical, Berlin

Mar  2006                   Dot Dot Dot Dot, Mossutställningar, Stockholm

May  2005                   På modet, ny svensk kläddesign, Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg

Commissions and collaborations in selection

2020                  Sträva ljus, commissioned work, Art draperies for restaurant AIRA, Stockholm

2017                  The Painting dresses, collaboration with artist Ylva Snöfrid, Athens

2017                  The Solar Egg, Kimonos, The Solar Egg av Bigert och Bergström, Institut Suédois, Paris

2016                  Orving/ Ekman, collaboration with choreographer Alexander Ekman, Modern Museum

2014                  Virpi Pahkinen/ Berit Lindfeldt, costume for dance performance, Liljevalchs, Stockholm

2013                  Theremin, costume for dance performance, Reaktorhallen R1, KTH, Stockholm

2012                  Come you daughters, costume for dance performance, The Royal Opera, Stockholm

2011                  PAF, Performing Arts Forum, residency and project exhibition, St Erme, Frankrike

2010                  Cantus, Sthlm 59 North, costume for dance performance, Gijon, Spain

2009                  Echo & Narcissus, costume for dance performance, Moderna dansteatern, Stockholm

2008                  Stage, Workshop with actors, performance, Elverket, Dramaten, Stockholm

Art grants and awards in selection

2021                    One year working grant, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee

2017                    Designer of the year, Elle Magazine

2013                    Årets blickfång, Elle Magazine

2009                    Two years working grant, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee

2007                    One year working grant, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee