Diane Pepe

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Associate Professor, Fine Arts

MA, University of New Mexico
BFA, Carnegie Mellon University

Contact Info

Fine Arts

Anderson Hall 3RD

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


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.


Creative/Scholarly/Professional Activity & Achievements: 2019 - 2022 Highlights

  • Praxis Photo Art Center, The Abstract Image, Minneapolis, MN
  • Philadelphia Center for the Book, Looking Out looking In, Swarthmore College Libraries, Swarthmore, PA
  • Presentation: Highlights and Reflections from Temple University’s Faculty Conference on Teaching Excellence, for Center for Teaching and Learning, UArts
  • Cedarburg Art Museum, Masters as Muses, Cedarburg, WI
  • Art of the State Best in Show Sculpture Installation, The State Museum of PA, Harrisburg, PA,
  • Marin Moca Museum of Contemporary Art, Winter Solstice Exhibit, Novato, CA
  • Cell Stem Cell, Cover Illustration, Biliary Epithelial Cells and the Portal Area Within the Liver, July 2019 edition. Highly competitive international science magazine
  • Gallery 311, Black and White: Sunrise through Hardangerfjord, en route to Eidfjord, Norway, Raleigh, NC