Diane Marsh

My artistic practice of 45 years has focused on creating figurative paintings that expound upon the human condition. Early paintings portrayed images of sorrow, pain, and inner wounding, illustrating a pathway toward healing & self-growth. Mid-career, after the birth of my only child, my paintings grew to include the question, “what will we leave of our earth for future generations?” These paintings incorporate words, text, images of children, nature, prayer, and additionally images of the ethereal realms, of memory, dreams, and spirit. I have always mined the experiences of my own life, searching for a universal truth within that experience, and this becomes a road map for my work. “Death is a Hard Teacher” (2022) has the quote scratched onto the surface, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” By reflecting on the many traumas of our current world situation and the issues of loss, betrayal, pain, and grief, art can act as a spirit guide to lead one through the trials of life, toward one’s larger self. Spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hanh said, "out of suffering compassion may be born." My paintings offer a vision of a spiritual path, the importance of our connection with the natural world, and the necessity of facing life’s sorrows and suffering to heal and grow.

Marsh was part of the Buffalo avant-garde in the late 1970’s where she attended graduate school with fellow "Pictures Generation" artists, Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo, and Ellen Carey, who all left Buffalo for the larger art world of New York City. After receiving a grant from The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in 1979, Diane Marsh moved to NYC. Moving briefly to Roswell, NM after receiving Residency grant from the RAIR Foundation, she returned to NYC(1981) where she lived for 7 years. The Frumkin/Struve Gallery in Chicago represented her early works. In 1985 Marsh was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant from jurors Pat Steir, Audrey Flack, and Joan Brown. Marsh moved to New Mexico and had solo exhibitions in Denver, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles throughout the 1990’s. She moved briefly to Lincoln, Nebraska and received a Nebraska State Arts Council Grant(2001) and in 2003 she was awarded a Kittridge Foundation Grant. In 2017 Lucy R. Lippard wrote the forward for the catalogue, “Diane Marsh: Paintings 1986-2017.” Recent solo exhibitions include The Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe(2019), Western NM University in Silver City(2021), and “Clea Rsky” Brooklyn, NY(2022). She was awarded a Jentel Foundation Artist Residency(2022.) In 2023 she was curated into White Columns Artist Registry in New York & in 2024 Marsh received a grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Recently an early painting was shown at The 2025 Armory Show with Eric Firestone Gallery in New York.

2-D, Painting (all materials)