Meet Ann Diener | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ann Diener and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ann, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
I think that people may not be aware of how hard artists work and how much is required to be an artist. There are many demands of an artist in addition to the long hours in the studio required to make the work. In my case, I perform a great deal of research before embarking on a body of work. This consists of reading as much as I can find on the subject at hand and collecting images to be used in making the drawings. There are also numerous administrative details required of an artist: having one’s work photographed, building and maintaining a website, studio and archive organization, writing about one’s work, speaking engagements and miscellaneous correspondence with art professionals and collectors.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am fascinated with drawing and making complex, layered works on paper on which I “map” the histories of places. I like to tell a story about a place, issue or event through images. The drawings consist of layers of information and depict real and invented spaces. I have made series of drawings about changes to California farm land, the visual history of Los Angeles, The St. Francis Dam break of 1928, the water systems of Rome and the layered history of Genoa, Italy, among others.

Currently, I’m excited about my upcoming exhibit at the Lancaster Museum, Pacific Standard Time (Getty Foundation) Art and Science scheduled for 2024. The subject is industrial agriculture and I’m making drawings, tapestries and a walk in installation focused on the science behind how food is grown as well as issues of water and soil and the inherent social inequalities related to these subjects.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to Downtown Los Angeles, explore Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Olvera Street. We would visit MOCA and the Arts District and walk through Grand Central Market, where we would choose a place to eat. A couple of my favorites are Prawn Coastal and Wexler’s Deli. We would also pick up cheese from the DTLA Cheese Shop and bread from Clark Bread to take home nd then have a coffee at G+B Coffee. We’d head to over to LACMA, the Hammer and the Fowler Museum at UCLA, my favorite museum on the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people who have been supportive and encouraging. Colin Gardner, Professor of Critical Theory and Integrative Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, Lorraine Molina, gallerist of the former Bank Gallery, Los Angeles, Marla Berns, the Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum at UCLA, retired, Meg Linton, Curator and former Director of the Ben Maltz Gallery At Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, a multitude of colleagues and friends both in and out of the art world and the most wonderful husband and family anyone could ask for.

Website: www.anndienerstudio.com

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