Diana Berek

"Mandela For Who We Are"; acyrlic and india ink; 14' x 15"

I am a self taught artist from a blue-collar working class family. While I am a native Chicagoan, my mother's family is from the Chippewa valley in rural, northern Wisconsin. I spent many summers with one or another aunt, while my mother and father worked in the factories. These summers instilled an appreciation for the land. More importantly, these summers instilled an appreciation for the different perspectives of rural and urban, agricultural and industrial, immigrant and indigenous: increasingly polarized perspectives of working class people struggling to survive in the face of an economic revolution. My struggle to unite these aspects of my own experience and to achieve some clarity is what shapes my thinking and informs my work.

contact; rosetree@mindspring.com