
Diana Orving
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 22, Stockholm
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