Featured Member: Marlene DiFiori Locke

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Marlene DiFiori Locke has been featured in over fifty local, regional and national exhibits. She has artwork in corporate and university collections such as the 7-Up Company, RGA, Inc, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, as well as private collections. In addition to creating artwork, DiFiori Locke has also taught art in public schools, summer camps, community centers, and private lessons.

Her most recent exhibitions include Connected by Process, a collaborative installation with Elizabeth Conn, and a major exhibition at Gallery Visio (on the University of Missouri—St. Louis campus) in 2010.

On July 2, 2011, DiFiori Locke was interviewed by anchor Andy Banker on Fox 2 News in the Morning. The interview, titled Marlene DiFiori Locke, Artist, can be seen here.

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Who are your favorite artists?

Right now some of my favorite artists are Alexander Ross, Jonathan Lasker, Niki de Phalle, Elizabeth Murray, Frank Stella and Juan Miro. Architects that are of particular interest to me are Frank Gehry and Antoni Gaudi.

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What materials do you most enjoy working with?

I use traditional materials like paint, paper, canvas, graphite, chalk, wire...I also make digital images using computer technology. I do like to try out most of the newer prducts that are being produced as well as keeping up with computer software.

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What inspires you?

Looking at the work of other artists inspires me. The computer lets us quickly see art from all over the world when we cannot see it "live". Art books, magazines, and newspapers are good sources too, bu at this time the compuer (and iPad) seems the most important to me. We recently visited the huge Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA, and saw an installation by Katharina Gross that was the size of a football field. A major exhibit by Sol LeWitt is also being shown there. The art scene in Missouri also inspires.

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What do you want someone to experience when they view your work?

Keeping ideas and process open so there is the possibility of surprises is important to me, so I hope the viewer can sense some of that when seeing my art.

What is your personal definition of "art"?

At this moment, "What is Art?" may be impossible to define without the passage of years that may eventually clarify the current glut of images, installations, concepts...I do think my personal definition of art may include the historical use of color, movement, size, depth, line, form, craftsmanship...and how, or if, these ideas relate to art-making today.

More images of Marlene DiFiori Locke's art can be seen on her website, or at Art Trends Gallery.