Diana Al-Hadid’s large-scale sculptures and wall hangings are accumulations of traditional and non-traditional materials, art historical imagery, and cultural references. Al-Hadid applies polymers and plaster in drippy layers, sometimes working from source material from the Renaissance or other works, building up the surfaces until the piece can be removed from the backing to become a freestanding object – a painting without a canvas. These panels are then mounted on the wall, constructed into sculptures, or transformed into installations. Her drawings on Mylar, like this work here, produce a similar effect, as the transparent support allows the layers of conté, charcoal, pastel, acrylic, and copper leaf to stand on its own. Beautiful and fragile, the streams of grays, greens, and copper coalesce into two domes, recalling the mountainous vistas commonly found in the background in numerous works in art history. Born in Aleppo, Syria, Al-Hadid was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and currently works in New York. Her work is part of numerous public institutions, including the San Jose Museum of Art; DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln; the Whitney Museum, New York; the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Hanover; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro.
