Resume
I am a Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma member born and raised in San Diego, California. Nine and a half years ago, I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to work as Director of Digital Collections for the Gilcrease Museum. Along with museum work, I have maintained my artist practice for many decades, studying art formally to earn a BA in Art (with minors in Music and Dance) from San Diego State University (SDSU) and an MA in Creative Art, Painting, from Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY). I lived in Los Angeles and worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for 22 years. Museum work and artist critique groups provided an informal framework for my ongoing artistic practice, which continues through my work at the Gilcrease Museum in Oklahoma today.
My father was a third-generation Oklahoman, descended from Col. David Folsom (Northeast District Chief in Mississippi from 1826 -1830) and Loring S W Folsom (Choctaw judge in Caddo, OK). My mother’s parents were also from this region in Oklahoma and Arkansas. I am learning more each day about my deep Oklahoma roots and have been welcomed by my Tribe and the Southeast Indian Artist Association (SEIAA).
Exhibitions
Living and working in Oklahoma has allowed me to engage with other native artists, especially those who are enrolled members of the Southeastern Tribes through the SEIAA organization.
'22
Indigenous Gender Identity, SEIAA, Tulsa Artist Coalition (TAC)
'21
Three paintings commissioned by the Choctaw Nation Casino collection
'20-'21
Cherokee Art Market online
'20
Re-Convening: Native Arts from Oklahoma, curator Heather Ahtone
The Muwekma-tah-ruk Art Project, Stanford University. Selected by native students for reproductions in their on-campus house
'18
Choctaw Art Exhibition, Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival (juried exhibition)
'17
Native Hearts: Respond and Reflect, Southeast Indian Artist Association, Tulsa Performing Arts Center (juried)
'16
Cherokee Art Market (juried exhibition)
'15
Choctaw Art Exhibition, Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival (juried exhibition)
Los Angeles and South Korea:
engaged with artists of Korean heritage
'11
Five Artists, Gallery Ls, San Pedro, CA
'10
Diana Folsom: The Materials of the Universe, Gallery Zein Xeno, Seoul, Korea
Lecturer at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea
Fifty Artists Invitational Show, Gallerie Rheeway, Los Angeles, CA
'09
Art from the Ashes, Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens, CA (invitational group show)
The Oldest Living Things in the World: Antarctic Expedition Fundraiser – Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, Brooklyn, New York (invitational group show)
Third Namsong International Art Show, Music Center Art Museum, Seongnam, Korea (invitational group show)
Happy New Year All Over the World, Gallery Western, Los Angeles, CA (invitational group show)
'08
'08
Inaugural Invitational Show, Gallery Western, Los Angeles, CA (four-person show)
Art activities in Los Angeles, Florida, and Vermont
'11
The Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Artist at Rollins College, Winterpark, FL
'07
Stream (an exhibition for EarthDay), DownSpace, Los Angeles, CA
'06
Artist Residency, Vermont Studio Center
'05
Twisted Christmas, BGH Gallery, Bergamot Station, Los Angeles, CA
'04
As Dreams Are Made On – A Tribute to Wm Shakespeare, Lois Lambert Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Gallery, Bergamot Station, Los Angeles, CA (two-person show with William F. Matthews)
'03
Holiday Show, Double Vision Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Buddha Lounge II, Don O’Melveny Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
'02
Woman as River: Liquid Passages, Double Vision Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
'01
Suspending Detachment, The Hatch Gallery, Venice, CA
The Greatest Drawing Show Ever, The Hatch Gallery, Venice, CA
Mail Art Exchange, Los Angeles County Museum of Art – Education Project/Exhibition
'98
American Airlines Ambassadors’ Club, San Diego Airport (invitational group show)
'94
Six Artists – Feature Show, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sales and Rental Gallery (invitational)
'93
Emerging Highlights, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sales and Rental Gallery
Three Women Artists, Southern California Council for the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Held Building, Los Angeles, CA
'93-07
Gallery artist, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sales/Rental Gallery
'92
What Color Does to Form, Koll Center, Irvine, CA (invitational)
Geometrics, Bistango, Irvine, CA (solo)
Paintings and Wall Constructions, Gallery West, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
Painting in L.A., Jeanson Bar and Grill, San Diego, CA (invitational)
Artist Focus Show, The Art Collector, San Diego, CA
'91-'10
Staff Summer Group Show, Los Angeles County Museum of Art - Sales and Rental Gallery
'91
Holiday Show and First Los Angeles Bank Show, Nemiroff-Deutsch Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Activities while living in San Diego
'91
California Perspective, Museum of Modern Art, Santa Ana, CA (invitational group show)
'90
Summer Group Show, Rebecca Cabo Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Diana Folsom Paintings, Bayou Bar and Grill, San Diego, CA (solo)
'89
Winter Group Show, Gwydion Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Summer Group Show, Gwydion Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Furnishings, Gwydion Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Shaped Formations, Gwydion Gallery, La Jolla, CA (solo)
Six Women Artists, Gwydion Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Art on the Charles, Boston, MA
Recent Work, Piret’s, Costa Mesa, CA (solo)
'87
Artist’s Furniture, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA (invitational)
'86
Artist’s Furniture, Installation Gallery, San Diego, CA
Screens and Scrolls, 18th Street Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
'85
Nice Paintings, ACW Gallery, San Diego, CA (solo)
'84
Nice Paintings, Mallory Gallery, Rancho Santa Fe, CA (solo)
'81
Six from San Diego, Newport Harbor Museum of Art, Sales and Rental Gallery
Collections
My paintings have been acquired by numerous corporate collections, television shows, private collectors, and the Namsong Art Museum, Gapyeong-gun, South Korea. With my paintings purchased around the United States, in South Korea, and Mexico City, recent acquisitions have brought my work into collections in new places: London, Geneva, and New York, as well as in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
APT Calvert, San Diego, CA
Bally's Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Sets of the television show Beverly Hills 90210 in 2013, Los Angeles, CA
Sets of television show Boston Legal, Los Angeles, CA
California One Investments, Los Angeles, CA
Chrome, San Diego, CA
Citibank, Los Angeles, CA
Sets of television show ER, Los Angeles, CA
Hilton Hotel, Ontario, CA
LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae, Los Angeles, CA
Mancini and Associates, Irvine, CA
Marriott Hotel/Marina, San Diego, CA
Namsong Art Museum, Gapyeong-gun, Korea
Nuri-Robins and Associates, Beverly Hills, CA
Marissa Roth, Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist, London, England
Sheraton Hotels, Rosemead, CA
Dr. Gary Solnit, Beverly Hills, CA
Herb Stott Films, Hollywood, CA
Tanabe Research Labs, La Jolla, CA
Tijuana Tilly's, San Diego, CA
Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, Atlanta, GA
Wildlife World Art Museum, Monument, Colorado
Publications
'20
American Indian Quarterly (AIQ Journal), University of Nebraska Press, 44:1 - 4, featured artist for the year with paintings on all four covers. More Info
'19
Diana Folsom Video interview for Oklahoma Native Artists Oral History Program, Oklahoma State University (OSU) OSU Oklahoma Native Artists archive. More Info
'06
KCSN 88.5 Art News Interview with Molly Barnes
'02
Dateline USA Interviews & L.A. ArtCore Panel with Molly Barnes
'98
KYPA 1230 Art News interview with Molly Barnes
'92
KPCC by Cleve Hermans Beverly Hills Today article
'91
KPFK Art News with Molly Barnes
'90
The Reader, San Diego, CA
'88
First Thursday, La Jolla, CA
Artist Profile, Channel 8 Evening News, San Diego, CA
'86
San Diego Home and Garden, San Diego, CA
'84
San Diego Home and Garden, San Diego, CA
The Citizen, Del Mar, CA
'79
Los Angeles Times, review
San Diego Evening Tribune, review