Diane Pepe

A headshot of Associate Professor Diane Pepe
Faculty

Expanded Drawing & Print Media (BFA in Fine Arts)

Diane Pepe is an associate professor in the Expanded Drawing and Printmaking emphasis at University of the Arts. She is also a multidisciplinary artist with a focus in drawing and multimedia constructions. Her abstract works are inspired by her research, environment and travel and are influenced by her personal experiences. Most recently, Pepe has been involved with the connections between science and the arts with a focus on the scientific processes of human memory and visual perception. Her works also express an awareness of women’s role in society and the conflict between internal passionate forces and external societal constraints. Additional recurring themes include light and architectural structures. All her work is seen through a reductionist lens that has been present throughout her creative process.

Biography

As an associate professor, Diane Pepe teaches 2-D design and color, and is coordinator of internships for the School of Art. She established an independent papermaking studio at UArts and conducted numerous workshops throughout the U.S. Pepe was tenured at Penn State University and also taught at Philadelphia Community College and Drexel University, also in Philadelphia.

Pepe has exhibited in solo and group shows in numerous venues, such as

  • Marin Moca Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, California;

  • Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Texas; 

  • Berman Museum, Collegeville, Pennsylvania; 

  • State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg; 

  • Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia; 

  • Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton Township, New Jersey; and

  • The Philadelphia Print Center.

Experience

Pepe earned her MA in Printmaking from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and her BFA in Painting and Photography from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was recently enrolled in Penn Liberal and Professional Studies Post-Baccalaureate program, for which she took courses in science and visual perception.

Visit Diane Pepe’s website.

View a video of Pepe’s work created for the SAI (Senior Arts Initiative) Oral Histories. 

Awards & Accolades

  • Pepe was the recipient of various grants, including 

    • the AIE Fellowship, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with support by The Getty Center in the Arts; 

    • the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Special Projects Grant; 

    • the National Science Foundation; and

    • several Penn State University Ford Foundation Research grants.

  • She also received many provost and faculty enrichment grants from UArts, including PARLab and Venture Fund grants.

A cherry wood tower with brass rods that allow the viewer to see the palmetto green stones inside and the stones are also on the ground in piles around the tower
Diane Pepe, “Sculpture Column,“ Art Alliance installation
A minimal sculpture made with weathered oak and brass rods on white marble stones that resembles a large city building
Diane Pepe, “Echo 12,“ Window on Broad Street installation
An abstract artwork in varying shades of puce and off white that is against a wall and has a platform that features blocks of translucent puce stacked on one another like a house of cards
Diane Pepe, “Memory as Construction Tower“
Two abstract artworks in varying shades of blue against a white background and in a white frame
Diane Pepe, “Memory as Construction Diptych Series II Episodic Memory Retrieval A and B“