April 3, 2017 Fox Featured in Palais de Tokyo Exhibit in Paris
Diane Fox, senior lecturer and director of exhibits, was recently invited to participate in the “Dioramas” exhibit at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, June 14-Sept. 10. The exhibit will present contemporary artists whose work explores the diorama and offers a unique understanding of the history of spectatorship.
The exhibit will feature Fox’s long-running series, UnNatural History. A collection of photographs that capture taxidermy dioramas in history museums across the world, UnNatural History explores the divisions between life and death and reality and fabrication.
Fox accepted an invitation to display her work after being selected by the three exhibit curators, one of whom had seen and enjoyed her series.
“Palais de Tokyo is the largest site devoted to contemporary art in Europe,” Fox said. “Being included in the museum’s ‘Dioramas’ exhibit is a great honor, as my photographs will be placed not only in Paris within this incredible space but also alongside great artists like Hiroshi Sugimoto and seen by people from all over the world. This is the most prestigious venue in which I have exhibited, and I am still surprised that the curators from Paris and London were familiar with UnNatural History.
“My hope is that this will open new doors for me as an artist and lead to new opportunities to exhibit and continue making my work. I feel that this experience, like all experiences, will enrich me and give me more to share with my students.”
Intrigued by the diorama’s representation of nature, Fox began photographing museum exhibits in 2000.
“It is this dichotomy between the real and the unreal, the version of life portrayed and the actuality of death, the inherent beauty of the animals within their fabricated environment and the understanding of its invention that finds me both attracted and repelled,” said Fox.
Images from UnNatural History are cited in Art and Animals by Giovanni Aloi and Taxidermy by Alexis Turner. Currently, there are three bodies of work in her series: “UnNatural History (black and white),” “UnNatural History (color)” and “UnNatural History Portraits.” From her collection, four photographs were chosen for the “Dioramas” exhibit.
Fox will travel to Paris in June to attend the exhibit opening.
At the College of Architecture and Design, Fox teaches photography and graphic design courses. Solo exhibitions of her work have occurred in Tower Fine Arts Gallery, SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY; Greyfriars Art Space in Norfolk, England; Dom Muz Gallery, Torun, Poland; and Santa Reparata Gallery, Florence, Italy. Fox holds degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Middle Tennessee State University.
Photographs from UnNatural History that will be Included in the Paris Exhibit
