Anne Diggory has worked out of her studio in Saratoga Springs, New York, for almost 40 years. She is known for her combination of accurate detail with expressive painting and strong abstract structure – an outgrowth of education at Yale and Indiana University and many years of exploring and painting the natural world. Her work has been seen in over 35 solo exhibitions and 75 group exhibitions in the United States, Panama and Germany. This past year her work was selected to be displayed as part of the Art in Embassies program in Swaziland. Recently Anne’s hybrid works combining photography and painting were the focus of two solo exhibits — in New York City at the Blue Mountain Gallery and at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY. That work was featured in the Adirondack Explorer, Saratoga Living and the 2015 photography issue of Adirondack Life. Major commissions include an Adirondack scene for the new Upstate Cancer Center in Syracuse, NY, and several large murals for the Adirondack Trust Company in Saratoga Springs, NY. Public art works include a collaborative commission of art work for the Saratoga Springs Train Station and a large interactive artwork series for the Albany Institute of History and Art.
With an interest in the choices made in the creative process, Diggory researches historic painting locations for 19th century American artists. She lectures about those choices and writes about them for the Adirondack Almanac. She has published her research on nineteenth-century artist John Frederick Kensett at Lake George in the Metropolitan Museum Journal.
In the artist’s own words:
“The works for this exhibition reflect my current fascination with the expressive visual energy of vortexes, whether I am inspired by ones that exist in front of me or whether I am introducing them into a calmer world. For me the world does not sit still; even the boulders and fallen trees along a shore suggest change, although at a slower pace. I often use a strong linear element such as a horizon or edge of a lake or field to anchor the curvilinear spinning. While many of my works respond to the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, I have recently been inspired by locations along the California coast, in my neighborhood in Saratoga Springs and in the clutter of my studio as I decide what to do with my mother’s things.
My use of photography in mixed media artworks began in 2006, and I adopted the term “hybrid media” to convey the idea that I was harnessing the interactive power of photography, digital manipulation and painting. While each year I also produce “straight” paintings and drawings, certain experiences or ideas seem to require the juxtaposed and intertwined powers of the hybrid works.”
