Carol Diehl is an American artist,

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

and poet. In addition to her writing, most recently appearing in her blog ''Art Vent'',''Art Vent''
Carol Diehl blog
Retrieved March 8, 2018. she is best known for her paintings, which have often documented daily life in a manner described as diaristic, even compulsive, using dense, painterly, often indecipherable words, numbers and symbols in grid or geometric frameworks.Levine, Cary. "Carol Diehl at Gary Snyder," ''Art in America'', May 2003, p. 147. Diehl has also been a prolific art critic, having contributed features and reviews to numerous periodicals, including '' Art in America'', ''

ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American art magazine, based in New York City. It covers visual arts from ancient to contemporary times. It is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. ''ARTnews'' has a readership of 180,000 in 124 co ...

'', and ''

Art + Auction Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

'', as well as to books and artist catalogues. In the 1990s, she became active in New York's performance poetry scene. Diehl lives in New York City and southwestern Massachusetts. She has two sons, Matt Diehl and Adam Diehl.

Early career and life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Diehl attended

MacMurray College MacMurray College was a private college in Jacksonville, Illinois, United States. Its enrollment in fall 2015 was 570. Founded in 1846, the college closed in May 2020. History Although founded in 1846 by a group of Methodist clergymen as the ...

in Illinois for two years, after which she married a graduate student at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(since divorced) and moved to

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Connecticut. She returned to Chicago in the early 1970s and began painting among a group of artists, including Barbara Blades, Liz Langer, Sandra Perlow and Fern Shaffer, studying at the

Evanston Art Center The Evanston Art Center is an arts center in Evanston, Illinois offering classes, lectures, exhibitions, and Outreach, community outreach. It is among the oldest and largest arts centers in Illinois. History The Evanston Art Center was founded ...

with artist

Corey Postiglione Corey Postiglione (born 1942) is an American artist, art critic and educator. He is a member of the American Abstract Artists in New York,Wilkin, Karen and American Abstract Artists (2015)''The Onward of Art: Eight Decades of American Abstract Art ...

.Isaacs, Deanna (February 26, 2004
“Postiglione's Women”
''Chicago Reader''. Retrieved February 16, 2018. Diehl was soon active in the art scene that flourished in Chicago, exhibiting her work at galleries such as Michael Wyman, Jan Cicero, and N.A.M.E. Gallery, and writing articles and reviews for the ''

New Art Examiner The ''New Art Examiner'' is a bi-monthly international magazine of critical art thinking founded in Chicago, Illinois in October 1973 by Derek Guthrie and Jane Addams Allen. Publication ceased in 2002. The magazine was relaunched in Cornwall, UK ...

'', where she became Managing Editor. She had her first individual exhibition at Roy Boyd Gallery in 1980.Katz, Sonia. "Carol Diehl, Roy Boyd Gallery," ''New Art Examiner'', November, 1980. During this time, her work was reviewed in the ''New Art Examiner'',Allen, Jane & Derek Guthrie. "Diehl, Giliberto, Pannier," ''New Art Examiner'', June, 1975. the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'',Hayden, Harold. "Abstractions in a Variety of Forms," ''Chicago Sun-Times'', May 25, 1975. the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'',Artner, Alan. "A Vial Refilled with Intelligence," ''Chicago Tribune'', August 31, 1979. and the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

''.Schulze, Franz. "The Timely Greening of Chicago's Abstract Art," ''Chicago Daily News'', Panorama Magazine, May 17–18, 1975. In 1976, Diehl moved to New York to work as assistant to

John Coplans John Rivers Coplans (24 June 1920 – 21 August 2003) was a British artist, art writer, curator, and museum director. A veteran of World War II and a photographer, he emigrated to the United States in 1960 and had many exhibitions in Europe and ...

, then editor of ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'' magazine.Carol Diehl website
biography
Retrieved March 8, 2018.

Painting

Diehl describes herself as a "painter who marries the literal with the abstract in a futile attempt to find balance between order and chaos." ''Art in America'' critic Cary Levine described her work as possessing "the intimacy of a personal journal at the same time that it is made impenetrable by her abstract style and refusal to provide the key to her encrypted symbolism." ''ARTnews'' critic Ingrid Periz wrote that the paintings' "disciplined surfaces make for lasting visual interest and … an almost meditative quality," in part due to Diehl's treatment of language as a formal device whose meaning cannot be decoded literally.Periz, Ingrid. "Carol Diehl/Gary Snyder," ARTnews, May 2003, p. 156-7. In recent years, Diehl has moved from large-scale, complex, grids to more spare works of pencil and ink on paper that she describes as "merging precision with spontaneity." In addition to the earlier exhibitions cited, Diehl's work has been shown in one-person exhibitions at the

Berkshire Museum The Berkshire Museum is a museum of art, natural history, and ancient civilization that is located in Pittsfield in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. History In 1903, local paper magnate Zenas Crane founded the Berkshire Museum. Inspired by suc ...

(2011), Richard Sena Gallery (2006), Gary Snyder Fine Art (2002), and Hirschl & Adler Modern (1996 and 1998). She has also shown her paintings in group exhibitions at, among others, the

Queens Museum of Art The Queens Museum (formerly the Queens Museum of Art) is an art museum and educational center at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. Established in 1972, the museum includes the '' Panorama of the City of Ne ...

, the

Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Aldrich has no permanent collection and is the only museum in Connecticut that is dedicated solely to the exhibition of contemporary art. The museum presents the first ...

, and the

Sidney Janis Gallery Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sídney (footballer, born 1963) (Sídney José Tobias), Brazilian football forward * Sidney (footballer, bor ...

. Reviews of her work have appeared in ' Art in America', ''

'',Turner, Grady. "Carol Diehl/Hirschl & Adler Modern," ''ARTnews'', June 1998, p. 124.Heartney, Eleanor. "Carol Diehl/Hirschl & Adler Modern," ''ARTnews'', April 1997, p. 121. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',Zimmer, William. "Finding the Personal in the Abstract," ''The New York Times'', December 26, 2004.Kramer, Hilton. "Seven Young Americans," ''The New York Times'', April 18, 1980. ''New York'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'',Schjeldahl, Peter. "Spacey Invaders," ''The Village Voice'', September 14, 1982, p. 74.Larson, Kay. "Seven Young Americans," ''The Village Voice'', April 28, 1980. and ''Review''.Bell, J. Bowyer. "Carol Diehl: Journals," ''Review'', February 15 & March 1, 1998, p. 42.Freedman, Matt. "Abnegation and Self-Redemption: Carol Diehl at Hirschl & Adler Modern," ''Review'', November 1, 1996, p. 1. Her work is widely held in corporate collections in New York and Chicago. Diehl is the recipient of artists' fellowships from the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

(1994) and the

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing funding to visual artists internationally to further their artistic practices. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expr ...

(1995), as well as residency fellowships from the MacDowell Colony for the Arts (most recently, 2006), and the

Millay Colony for the Arts Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...

(1992).

Art criticism and blog

Diehl was a Contributing Editor to ''Art in America'' (2007-2016), where she wrote cover articles on

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson (; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scaled installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's experience. In 1995, ...

, Robert Irwin,

Wolfgang Laib Wolfgang Laib (born 25 March 1950 in Metzingen, Germany) is a German artist, predominantly known as a sculptor. He lives and works in a small village in southern Germany, maintaining studios in New York and South India. His work has been exhibit ...

and

Christian Marclay Christian Marclay (born January 11, 1955) is a visual artist and composer. He holds both American and Swiss nationality. Marclay's work explores connections between sound art, noise music, photography, video art, film and digital animations. A p ...

, as well as numerous other features and reviews. Her writing about contemporary art has also appeared in ''ARTnews'', ''Art + Auction'', ''

Art & Antiques ''Art & Antiques'' is an American arts magazine. History 1984 launch ''Art & Antiques'' launched its premier issue in March 1984. While the magazine disclaimed any connection to a previous publication of the same name, the company had in fact ...

'', ''New York'', ''Civilization'', and '' ''Metropolis''''. Diehl has written essays for numerous artists' catalogues and contributed essays to several books, including Olafur Eliasson Studio's ''Unspoken Spaces'' (2016), ''Along a Long Line'' by Michael Glier (2009), and ''A Place for the Arts: The MacDowell Colony'', 1907-2007 (2007). Known for her clear, insightful and candid writing style, Diehl has created a popular blog
''Art Vent''
In 2011, she received an Arts Writers Grant from th
Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation
for the blog.

Teaching

Diehl taught painting and writing in the Graduate Fine Art Program of the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in New York (1996–2006) and served on the Core Visual Arts faculty at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

(1998-2002). She has been a visiting artist and lecturer a
Yale University
Stanford University,

Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation's oldest art schools, and the only publicly funded independent art sch ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

, the

Vermont Studio Center The Vermont Studio Center (VSC) is a non-profit arts organization located in the town of Johnson, Vermont. It conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the United States, with a significant population of international artis ...

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...

, the

Fine Arts Work Center The Fine Arts Work Center is a non-profit enterprise that supports emerging visual artists and writers in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Work Center was founded in 1968 by a group of American artists and writers to support promising individual ...

(MA),

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

, and the

University for the Creative Arts The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in Southern England. It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Institu ...

in Canterbury, U.K.; Senior Critic in the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Visual Arts Program; and the Forkosh-Hirshman lecturer at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 2006.

Poetry

In the early 1990s, Diehl was active in Downtown New York's performance poetry scene and has read her work at the

Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican Movement, Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorker) art movement, and has b ...

The Kitchen A kitchen is a room used for the preparation of food. Kitchen, or The Kitchen, may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Kitchen'' (1966 film), an American film * ''Kitchen'' (1997 film), a Hong Kong film * ''The Kitchen'' (1961 film ...

, and the

Poetry Project The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church was founded in 1966 at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery in the East Village of Manhattan by, among others, the poet and translator Paul Blackburn. It has been a crucial venue for new and experimental poetr ...

at St. Mark's Church, among others. She also appeared with Butch Morris's "Chorus of Poets" at The Public Theater, the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

and the Bang on a Can Festival at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. Her poetry is included in the anthology ''Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe'' (Henry Holt and Company), winner of the 1994 American Book Award.

Books

*Studio Olafur Eliasson
''Unspoken Spaces''
Chapter 1 (with Terrence Perk), Thames & Hudson, 2016. *Carter Wiseman, Ed
''A Place for the Arts: The MacDowell Colony, 1907-2007''
Essays by Joan Acocella, Michael Chabon, Carol Diehl, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Paul Moravec, Ruth Reichl, Jean Valentine, Wendy Wasserstein, Jaqueline Woodson and Kevin Young. *Mike Glier, Lisa Corrin and Carol Diehl
''Mike Glier: Along a Long Line''
Hudson Hills, 2009. *Carol Diehl, with Valerie Ann Leeds,

Anita Shreve Anita Hale Shreve (October 7, 1946 – March 29, 2018) was an American writer, chiefly known for her novels. One of her first published stories, ''Past the Island, Drifting'' (published 1975), was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976. Early ...

John Sacret Young John Sacret Young (May 24, 1946 – June 3, 2021) was an American author, producer, director, and screenwriter primarily in television, perhaps best known for his work on the show ''China Beach''. Young was nominated for seven Emmys and seven Wr ...

''Andrew Stevovich: Essential Elements''
Lenox: Hard Press Editions, 2007. Diehl's book about the anonymous street artist, ''Banksy: Completed'', will be published b
The MIT Press
in Fall, 2021.

References

External links

caroldiehl.com
Official website
ArtVent.blogspot.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diehl, Carol Living people American art critics 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters MacMurray College alumni Writers from Chicago American women poets American women critics MacDowell Colony fellows American women non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people)