Diane Mengali - Artist statement

​ My early training in art came from a still life oil painter, but
my interest has always been geometric form, space and color. As a young
adult, it was difficult for me to reconcile my personal vision of art to
my early training.  This different vision, combined with a long struggle
with panic attacks, agoraphobia and therapy appointments, interfered for
many years with my ability to paint.

 Two major influences unlocked my visions and propelled me back to
the canvas.  The first occurred during a lecture by the well-known
artist, Corita Kent. After seeing her work, I began to appreciate how
art could relate significant ideas without representing traditional
subjects.  The second influence came during my personal search for
healing and relief from agoraphobia. To escape the anxieties that would
otherwise pervade my every waking moment, visualization exercises
offered me a safe haven from the stress of panic attacks.  As I became
skilled at visualization, the images that developed in my mind were the
geometric interactions that I had first "seen" as a young girl.