Diana Dorenzo, best known for her pastels and oils, has been exploring the range and possibilities of oil bar, a medium that results in a looser, more abstract style. In this show, she teams with Gwen Arkin who uses a a low-tech plastic Holga camera, because of its unpredictability, for her black-and-white and hand-colored photographs.

About this show, Diana says, "As Gwen explained her enchantment with the 'toy' camera, I realized why I was interested in doing a show with her. She not only chooses subject matter similar to my own, but, rather than using all the modern technology at her disposal she lets her heart and the camera take over. I also have been trying to let go of the control in my work."

Diana continues, "I don't want my paintings to be examples of my skills. I want something more intuitive going on. I tend to think of it as magic because it is elusive and cannot be coaxed, in any tangible way, to appear. What I want appears only when I stop forcing it.
I want to work more from the subconscious, letting go of the control and the need to apply my skill, my learning. There is something deep down in my subconscious (or maybe entirely outside myself) that wants to come out and play when my hands and mind will allow it. Some of the results are fascinating and entirely my own.

Gwen Arkin is a photographer whose process allows for chances and surprises in the darkroom to enter into her work. Her Holga camera is a throw-away camera that, for various reasons, artists have glommed onto. It has none of the modern qualities that make most cameras desirable today. It does not make predictable prints. It does use large format black and white film which sets it apart even from the commercial throw-away cameras. The camera is known for its light leaks and small range of focus which allows for a soft blurriness in the image and chance encounters with light. The camera seems to have its own idea about what is important in the image leading to interesting interpretive results. Diana remarks, "To me it's the same way you remember a scene. Your minds eye focuses on what it considered important, and the details and edges tend to fade away. You may even embellish your mental picture."