Artist statement & biography

"My work traces the choreography of light on water, an ever-shifting interplay of movement. I immerse myself in these spaces where the human figure is transformed by the fluid motion of the sea. In my paintings, figures appear submerged and fragmented, broken into patterns of light, reflection and shadows.

The resulting works are less about capturing clarity and more about embracing disorientation, allowing the viewer to enter a space where their vision wavers.

Extending these explorations three dimensionally, my ceramic sculptural series aims to create a dialogue about our current climate crisis. Bleached coral headdresses crown human figures that echo the fragility of dying reefs. Traditional Japanese tattoos are inked across their bodies, which speak to endurance and determination. Lifeless fish are scattered amongst them, symbolizing ecological collapse. The sculptures become monuments to loss and resilience. 

The future of our reefs depends on the choices we make now for our future generations.”

Diana Unrein has been creating art for over four decades.

Born and raised on the island of Cyprus in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Diana is most at home near the water, is an avid swimmer, and lover of all things aquatic.  She left Cyprus to attend college in the United States, enrolling at Fort Hays State University as an undergraduate. There, she earned her BFA and MFA degrees in art with an emphasis in painting.

Water has been a recurring element, one prevalent throughout her art, and she is best known for her underwater figurative paintings. Her oil paintings merge realism with abstraction, and in her most recent body of work, she expanded into sculpture, addressing environmental issues that impact the ocean.

Diana and her husband James, a third-generation rancher, raised their three children on a farm in Western Kansas. She and James live in Hays, Kansas, where she works out of her home studio. 

Her work has been exhibited regionally and internationally and is held in many corporate and personal collections. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and special recognitions, most notably as a sculpture finalist in the Beautiful Bizarre International Art Prize in 2022, 2023, and 2024.