Diana Costantini at The Other Art Fair: "My relationship with art is really just centred on my love to create."
All aspects of Diana Costantini’s life are marked by creativity. Whether it’s heading a large team of multi-discipline creatives as creative director at the ABC, or experimenting with mixed-media in her spare time, the importance of art is an ever present reality for her. While she also delves into watercolour, ink, collage, and ceramics, her current collection, Flow, harnesses acrylic on canvas to celebrate the beauty of the female form through organic shapes, delicate mark-making, and an earthy palette. Despite her success, the pressure to create — and create well — is a challenge Diana still finds herself adapting to as she learns more about her work, her process, and her capabilities. However, for Diana, like many other artists, the challenge is worth it. As we sit in a corner of The Cutaway in Barangaroo, sandstone and concrete encasing crowds of Other Art Fair attendees, we discuss why she needs art, why the world needs art, and why personal style is essential to hold on to as an emerging artist.
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Diana Costantini’s stall. Image Credit: The Other Art Fair.
Freja: For those who don’t know, tell me about yourself and your relationship with art.
Diana: My name is Diana Costantini and I’m a multimedia artist living on Gadigal land, Sydney. I'm a creative director at the ABC, so I have a large team of mixed creatives that I lead such as animators, digital artists, producers, writers, and design teams. This allows me to be creative at work, but also equally inspires me personally as I experience creativity outside of work. I like to draw from all of these places, rather than stick to one medium. I play with collage and ceramics, and although I’d like to master a few of them a bit more, I have been privileged enough to be able to immerse myself in creativity early in my life and my career.
My relationship with art is really just centred on my love to create. I always encourage my staff and creative team to do that as well. Yes, we do this for a living, but we’re also following a brief. So, I encourage them to try and create outside of the workplace because that’s where you can actually, really explore your own creativity. I just really love it.
F: Tell me about your current collection, Flow. What inspired it?
D: It’s inspired by the female form in a lot of ways. It's all based loosely on the organic shapes and flows, and just the lumps and bumps that we have as women. It’s very shapely. There are no hard edges or hard lines. It's very organic and quite feminine.
Patterns of Serenity and Sway to the Rhythm by Diana Costantini. Image Credit: The Other Art Fair.
F: What is your creative process like, both generally and for this selection of work specifically?
D: I don't try and overthink it to be honest. I just let it happen. I don't even sketch it out in the formal sense. Instead, I often hand draw certain shapes and ideas pattern-wise and find myself doodling (for want of a better word) because I like mark-making. So, in this part of the process, I am trying to explore different shapes and find the right marks so that when I hit the canvas, I can just let it all happen and not overthink it. I also use a lot of blacks to give me that relief from the patterns which creates a lot of zen space in my work. Sometimes patterns don’t work and they clash, so I find standing back and viewing the composition as a whole really helps. That’s when I can really see the different styles working well together and creating something I love.
F: Do you find that creating art can be a therapeutic process for you?
D: Usually it is, however, when it comes to preparing for a fair like this, it can sometimes get to the point where it feels more like another job. Saying this, I have loved being disciplined with a specific series of works and seeing what I could achieve. Although, after this, I’m planning on taking a breather and getting back into art for other reasons; for the release outside of my day job and for the enjoyment.
F: Why do you believe art is so important?
D:The world needs art so much. It not only gives you a different perspective, but also allows people to channel the creativity and beauty that I believe everyone has in them, whether it’s music, cooking, whatever your thing is.
F: What do you find most inspiring about the artist community?
D: As an emerging artist myself, having a lot of artists as friends is such an incredible inspiration. Even here at the fair, there are so many beautiful artists that I’ve been surrounded by, so it has been really great to connect with everyone. Also, as someone who likes to find inspiration in a diversity of mediums spanning from graphic design to typography, developing a network of artists around me is a beautiful thing.
F: As someone working a full-time job and creating art outside of this, what advice would you give to emerging artists or creatives who are tackling a similar lifestyle?
D: I guess my advice would be to not close yourself off. Be open to all forms of influence. I think if you're young and you're trying to break into the workforce, just make sure that your folio of work still shows your own personal style. A diversity of style is a really important aspect for someone who’s employing creatives, as I do. An artists’ personal style and their ability to follow a brief in a creative sense are two very distinct things, so I would stay open and not shut down any opportunity.
To view more of Diana’s work, get in touch with her below:
Instagram: @loveartaus
Etsy: Loveartau