Equipoise, a recent work by Loudoun County sculptor Diana Reuter-Twining, has a distinct awareness of energy. Her sensitivity is evident in how she approaches her sculpture creation — the same as she did with architecture earlier in her life.
Exposure to the world of art and animals at an early age shaped Reuter-Twining’s artistic focus. She absorbed an appreciation for art through her parents’ collections of antiques, sculptures, paintings, and rugs that filled their house. Weekends spent on her grandparent’s farm in Aldie, Virginia, cultivated Reuter-Twining’s fondness for farm animals and wildlife.
Reuter-Twining’s early career as an architect proved to be a practical way to make a living. After twenty years in historical renovations and adaptive reuse projects, she tried her hand at sculpture. She enrolled in the Corcoran School of Art and subsequently in the Loveland Academy of Art and the Scottsdale Artists’ School. Studying with living masters such as Greg Beecham, Matt Smith, Richard Greeves, Michael Coleman, Eugene Daub, and David Turner would be invaluable.
A common thread
With creativity and skill in both architecture and sculpture, Diana Reuter-Twining describes common threads between the two studies: “Like architecture, the sculpture has a field of energy that expands from its core, and like architecture, it is experienced in four dimensions; time being the fourth. Architects and sculptors both can manipulate time. An architect can strategically place a stair, window, or volume to slow down the participant’s experience a sculptor can encourage the viewer to walk around a piece through gesture, rhythm, scale, and color.”
Viewing Reuter-Twining’s Mandolin sculpture, a sense of energy is noticed in the water ripples of overlapping circles. Created by two mandarin ducks swimming around each other, the polished nickel reflects the complex geometry.
Another work of art focusing on the mandarin duck, Reuter-Twining’s bronze Mandarin is also a study in energy. Here’s what she has to say about this piece:
“The mandarin duck seems almost too pretty to be outside. I chose it to accentuate the riffle all ducks create while swimming on still waters. “
Diana reuter-twining
“One cannot disassociate the duck from the pattern following it on ponds, lakes, and rivers. By elevating it on a stand I was able to imagine that what lies beneath might be equally as elegant and memorable.”
Mandarin is also available as a wall hanging.
Installation of Diana Reuter-Twining’s scupture
Her recent work, Equipoise, is a representation of a ballet dancer balancing on a beam with a dressage horse in a perfect state of equilibrium, or equipoise. Once again, the use of energy is at play. This sculpture and a second bronze, Maestro, were both gifted to the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. A celebration for its outdoor installation will take place on Saturday, May 28th, 2022 at 3:00 pm. The Virginia National Ballet, the leading dance organization in Northern Virginia, will perform following a champagne toast and reception.
Artist’s bio
Reuter-Twining’s work is in the permanent collections of Brookgreen Gardens, Bryn Mawr College, Western Kentucky University, The National Sporting Library and Museum, The Metropolitan Club, The Middleburg Library, and Loudoun County Parks. Her extensive awards and exhibitions are listed on her website.
The sculptor’s studio is housed in a barn on the farm which has been in her family since the 17th Century.
She has an undergraduate degree in Art History from Hollins College and a Masters of Architecture from the Catholic University. She is a registered architect and was the founding chairman of the Middleburg Historic District Review Committee and oversaw the writing of its guidelines in 1990.
She is a signature member of the National Sculpture Society, the Society of Animal Artists, The Salmagundi Club, and master signature member and president emeritus of American Women Artists.
