Artist Photo and Brief Bio

Diana Solís: Painter and Art Educator
Photo by Víctor Espinoza

Diana Solis was born in 1956 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México and raised in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. In 1997, she received her BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She began her career as a documentary photographer. However, she was inspired to pursue painting while studying under Kerry James Marshal. Her experience as an arts educator and community-based artist spans more than thirty years. According to Ms. Solis, "The importance of teaching and providing art to our community is an invaluable resource; it pushes against the tide, providing infinite possibilities of being."


Diana's photography, mixed media, works on paper, and most recently her illustrations have been exhibited throughout the United States, Mexico, Spain and Germany. Ms. Solís lives in Chicago working as an artist-in-residence in Chicago Public Schools and in community-based after school programs in conjunction with Pros Arts Studio where she holds a position as a visual artist.

Exhibits April & May 2009

Current Exhibits April & May 2009

Diana Solís Small Works on Paper
Open House hosted by Del Sol Realty
1441 W. 18th Street Sunday April 19 2pm - 8pm

Pilsen Artists
Walker's Point Center for the Arts
911 W. National Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53204
Phone: 414.672.2787 Fax: 414.755.1960
Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat, Noon to 5pm
Admission to the gallery is FREE
Find WPCA on Mapquest
Exhibit runs through April 25

Arte Ahora
2n Annual Latin American Art Fair
River North Gallery District
233 W. Huron Main Floor
April 30 - May 4, 2009
www.chicagoarteahora.com

Hector Duarte, Soid Pastrana and Diana Solís
Feria del Libro Mexican y Latino en Chicago 2009
Northeastern Illinois University
May 13 - 17
FREE and Open to the Public
ferialibrochicago.blogspot.com

News • Noticias
April 2009
Diana Solís receives the 2009 Sor Juana Women of Achievement
Award given by the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

Diana Solís, Visual Artist
Paintings • Illustration • Works on Commission
CasaStudio
1011 W. 20th Place #2
Chicago, IL 60608
773. 235-0075
Emails: diana210@hotmail.com
210diana@gmail.com
http://dianasolisarteypapel.blogspot.com

Artist Resume updated April 2009

Diana Solís
Chicago, IL U.S.A.
E-mails: diana210@hotmail.com
210diana@gmail.com
http://dianasolisarteypapel.blogspot.com
www.flatironproject.com

EDUCATION:
1997 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
2006 – Present: Artist-in-Residence, Painting and Drawing Instructor, After School and
Community Arts Programs, Pros Arts Studios, Chicago, IL
2001 Artist-in-Residence, Community Art Workshops, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
1997 Adjunct Professor of Art, Humanities Department, San Agustine College, Chicago

SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS:
2008 “A TODA MADRE”, Esperanza Gama and Diana Solís, La Llorona Gallery,
Chicago, IL
2007 “CENTRO DE ATRACCIÓN”, New Work by Diana Solís, Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006 “HARD AND SOFT” New works by Carmen Perez and Diana Solís, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL
2005 DIANA SOLíS, “BETWEEN MYTH AND REALITY”, Dubhe Carreño Gallery,
Chicago, IL
DIANA SOLIS AND ESPERANZA GAMA, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITS:
2009 PILSEN ARTISTS, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
“ARTE AHORA”, Chicago’s 2nd Annual Latin American Art Fair, Chicago, IL
2008 “MADE IN THE USA” University of Carbondale, Carbondale, IL
18th STREET PILSEN OPEN STUDIOS, “MADE IN PILSEN III”, Prospectus Gallery, Chicago, IL
“LA VIDA SIN FIN”, 22 Annual Day of the Dead Exhibit 2008, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
“ARTE AHORA”, Chicago’s First Latin American Art Fair, River East Center,
Chicago, IL
2007 MATCH, Dubhe Carreno Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005 DIVERSITY AND SPIRIT, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
SOFA CHICAGO, Dubhe Carreno Gallery, Chicago, IL
2004 ZALCE TIEMPO Y TESTIMONIO: PROYECTO COLECTIVO BINACIONAL, Palacio de Gobierno, Morelia, Michoacán, México
2003 AROUND THE COYOTE FALL ARTS FESTIVAL, The Flat Iron Arts Building, Chicago, IL
2002 ELEMENTS EXP-36 AIGUA, Centre Civic Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
2000 COINCIDENCIAS, Museo de Culturas Populares, Toluca, Mexico

AWARDS, GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2009 Recipient Sor Juana Women of Achievement Award, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2005 Illinois Arts council Technical Assistance Grant, Chicago, IL
2001 Illinois Arts council Governor’s International Arts exchange Program, Chicago, IL
1997 Faculty Prize in Photography, Film and Electronic Media, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
1991 Illnois Arts Council Completion Grant, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
1987 Graduate College Research fellowship in Photography, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
1986 Neighborhood Arts Portfolio Development Grant, Chicago Arts Council, Chicago, IL

SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:
National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
Françoise de Brugada, Paris, France
Bertha Ruiz de la Concha, Mexico City, Mexico
Fred Hanson, New York, NY
Sandra Cisneros, San Antonio, Texas
Beatriz and David Gartler, Chicago, IL
Ruth Horowitz, New York, NY
Mary Kay Vaughan, Oaxaca, Mexico
Carlos Schaffer, Mexico City, Mexico
Laura Munt and Ferran Kali Kelonen, Barcelona, Spain

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PUBLICATIONS:
Edelman, Maciel, Olivia “Vanguardia en Latinoamérica, Revista Iberoamericana, Vol. LXXIV No. 224 University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA Cover Illustration (July – September 2008)
Lynderson, Kari “Diana Solís y Patricia Acosta: La oscuridad y la luz de sus mundos de fantasia,” Contratiempo Magazine, Issue No. 59 Chicago, IL (September – October 2008)
Aparecio, R. Frances and Sandoval-Sánchez, Alberto “Hybridismos Culturales: la literatura y cultura de los latinos en los Estados unidos, “ Revista Iberoamericana, Vol. LXXI, No.212
University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA Cover Illustration (July – September 2005)
Negro, Delia “Diana Solís y su Exploración Creativa,” Contratiempo Magazine, Issue No. 15
Chicago, IL (July 2004)
Gaweki, E. Marsha “Diana Solís: Painting Mountains in Wicker Park,” La Raza, Arena Cultural Supplement Chicago, IL (July 9, 2000)
Garza, Marie, Melita “Showing her Colors,” Latina Magazine (September 1998)
Mendieta, Ana “Report, Wicker Park Gentrify,” Chicago Sun-Times (December 26, 1999)
Badikian, Beatriz “Mapmaker Revisited,” Gladsome Books Cover Illustration (1999)

Diana Solís Biography

DIANA SOLÍS

Born: Mexico
Residence:Chicago
Blog Site and Links: dianasolisarteypapel.blogspot.com
www.theflatironproject.com

Diana Solís was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico in 1956.
At age one she traveled with her mother from Monterrey, N.L. to join her father in Chicago where she has lived for over 50 years. Diana Solís attended Columbia College, Chicago, the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus, while at the University of Illinois she was given the opportunity to attend a summer seminar sponsored by the Latin American Studies Department at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma, U.N.A.M. graduate school of economics in Mexico City. It was this experience along with previous trips to her birth land as a freelance photographer that she decided to live and work in Mexico City. (1981 – 1997)

In 1997, she returned to Chicago and completed her undergraduate studies, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from the College of Art and Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 1976– 1997 her primary work was in photography (documentary and photojournalism). 1996 to the present she has dedicated herself to painting full-time. The art and photography of Diana Solis has been included in numerous local, national and international group and solo exhibitions in venues such as, The National Museum of Mexican Art, Museum of Science and Industry, Fassbinder Gallery, the University Museum of Southern Illinois Carbondale University, Aldo Castillo Gallery, Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Morlan Gallery Transylvania University, Lexington Kentucky, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois, Oak Park Art League, Northeastern Illinois University, Columbia College, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Evanston, Illinois, State University of New York, New Paltz, New York, Universidad Tecnólogia de México, Mexico City, Mexico, Centre Civic Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain, Museo de Culturas Populares, Toluca Mexico, Café Schraders, Berlin, Germany, Institut Français d'Amérique Latine, Mexico City, Mexico among others.

Diana Solís is a teaching artist with Pros Arts Studio in Chicago, where she teaches painting and drawing in community, after school and artist-in-residency programs in Chicago area schools. In addition to working with Pros Arts Studio, Diana is also a freelance illustrator and full-time painter.