University of Manitoba - School of Art - Diane Whitehouse: Rooms and Other Walled Places
Diane Whitehouse: Rooms and Other Walled Places

January 5 - 29, 1986

The exhibition Rooms represents a part of the impressive body of acrylic/oil and acrylic paintings that resulted from the assistance of a major grant from Manitoba Arts Council that Diane Whitehouse received in 1984-85.  In these large, figurative the subject of seemingly emply rooms is suggested. through the use of images such as shadows, pipe smoke and other metaphorical elements, the possibility of a human presence in these rooms is suggested. The enigmatic nature of these works makes it impossible to interpret them in a literal or specific manner. Rather, they offer the viewer the unique opportunity of engaging in a personal, meditative, and exclusively non-verbal experience.

Diane Whitehouse "paints rooms and shadows that form and reform to make another reality, a painting world parallel to like. She does not seek to describe a secular world [and yet, she] makes it clear that she fully accepts painting as a language. 'I love painting. I feel that paintings works as a historically developed language. With painting I can say what I want to say.'" - Sheila Butler, curator

Diane Whitehouse was born in England and studied at the Birmingham College of Art, Birmingham and at the Bergen Kunsthaverskole in Bergen, Norway. Her extensive exhibition record includes solo shows at both the Winnipeg Art Gallery (1981-1982) and Plug-In Gallery (1984). As well, she has taught painting at institutions throughout Canada, including N.S.C.A.D. (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design), Halifax and the School of Art, University of Manitoba, where she is presently teaching.

Diane Whitehouse: Rooms and Other Walled Places Catalogue [PDF]