Diane Maclean | Sculpture Artist

Artist Statement

Diane Maclean (b.1939) has had a distinguished career as a sculptor and environmental artist. A Fellow and Council member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, Maclean has created many public artworks over the last thirty years. Her heralded sculptures mainly use stainless steel, and bring art and engineering together to interpret natural phenomena. Working mostly on a large scale, she seeks to interpret natural phenomena through industrial materials and media, particular inspiration being the climate and the material of our planet. Maclean has exhibited internationally, as well as closer to home across the UK, in particular Hertfordshire where she resided for 46 years. Among Diane’s vast list of public art commissions include works for the cities of Paris, Helsinki, Dundee, Chelmsford and Inverness and Universities of Surrey, Hertfordshire, Stirling and Guelph, Ontario.

Information - About Exhibitions

Wind, water, and light capturing the ephemeral in substantial form is an ongoing challenge. The weather, the effects of it, the mineral content of our planet, and the shapes that occur in nature, have all been subjects of my work. I see the materials themselves as an important element in its creation. I try to bring their best qualities into view, in sculptures and installations that reflect light, are suspended, have moving parts, sound and colour, and are therefore not static and unchanging. Much of my work as a sculptor and environmental artist has been in public sculpture and commissions for towns and cities and other public spaces where my sculptures are a response to a place, a theme, or an idea. Very often they have to exist unprotected in the open in the long term, making strength and high-quality materials essential.