Nestled in one of the most unassuming corners of American River College’s main campus, behind the theater in what seems like a back alley suite covered in beige stucco, one can find the James Kaneko Gallery where painters come to display the fruits of their labor.
Beginning last month and wrapping up February 8, visitors can find the work of Diana Ormanzhi’s series of paintings, collectively titled “Illusion of Sanctuary”. This gallery is the culmination of three years worth of paintings produced by Ormanzhi.
The common backdrop of her paintings shows open flames or orange, glowing sunsets. The paintings that grace this gallery are a byproduct of her experiences following a tragic house fire that took place in Rancho Cordova in 2019 during her tenure at ARC. This fire not only left her looking for a new place to rest her head, but took her supplies and all of her paintings up to that point.
“The year after the fire was definitely the most difficult,” Ormanzhi said in an email to the Current. “Surprisingly, some of my favorite art came from that period.”
Upon entering the gallery, you can expect to be taken aback by the paintings of women turned beings in transubstantiation. This metamorphosis is not limited to the ecclesiastical, however, as the subjects find their flesh being transformed into an array of different materials, organic and otherwise.
On the back wall hangs an oil painting titled “A Balancing Act” displaying a woman, dressed in nothing but her fugue state, slowly merging into Gaia by way of the tree branch she’s precariously standing on. That, or she’s becoming one with the soil that birthed her.
Some faculty at ARC say they have had the pleasure of witnessing Ormanzhi grow from a student just getting her feet wet with oil paint into a developed artist. Delores White, the instructional assistant with the James Kaneko gallery, expressed her enthusiasm for a former student having found her way in the art world and how that garnered the attention of professors and students alike.
“Nearly every teacher with their entire class [has] been in here,” White said, speaking of Ormanzhi’s reception. “It’s the most exciting reception ever, because the volume was just electric.”
Ormanzhi’s skill doesn’t just rest in her talent with oil painting. Another work displays a woman engulfed by ivy up to her chin and over her scalp, titled “Fleeting Youth”, where the ivy vines define her silhouette. This portrait is produced using linoleum block print, using only minimal applications of white upon a thick black environment.
A follower of Ormanzhi’s work would find stagnation to be a characteristic that her art lacks.
“I’m constantly switching to other methods to avoid painting art block,” Ormanzhi said about her use of other artistic methods. “As someone that worked in an art supply store for eight years, I’m constantly tempted to experiment with materials outside of oil paint.”
A casual observer may not notice the red dots placed on a couple nameplates, such as “Until We Meet Again,” have a small white dot placed on the bottom right corner to show that this work had been purchased.
There are some paintings where you won’t find a red dot, as these works are not for sale. The “Protectress” series shows women with fauna encased in their natural habitat under the woman’s transparent Victorian dresses.
“After losing all of my material possessions in a fire, I had no artwork left from my early 20s,” Ormanzhi says about the importance of the Protectress series in her gallery. “I just felt like keeping something that can stay in my family and perhaps get passed down in the future.”
Ormanzhi and her work can also often be found at the Arthouse Gallery & Studios on R Street in Sacramento where she has a studio. Ormanzhi’s artwork can be found on display there every second Saturday from 5pm – 8pm during the Arthouse’s “Meet the Artist” Reception.
“We have almost 20 artists with various styles and artistic expressions,” Ormanzhi said. “No matter what type of art you gravitate towards, you are bound to find something you like!”
Learn more about the art of Diana Ormanzhi on her website, Dianaormanzhi.com, or on Instagram @Dianaormanzhi.
