Diana Miller

'Protected Heart' refers to the person who has learned to soften their edges without fully lowering their guard. They appear calm and composed, and reveal just enough to find connection, while carefully preserving what feels most vulnerable inside. This facade is about self-preservation; someone shaped by experience, loss, or love once given too freely. The soft pinks of the background represent the vulnerable heart while the brown foreground shapes represent the gently armoured facade.

Diana Miller's process of layering is central, both conceptually and materially. In some of the works, the underlying image remains visible; in others, it is softened through glazing or almost entirely concealed beneath dense surface layers. This process mirrors the ways we construct our own facades through life, consciously or not. The foregrounds consist of compositions the artist has created, evolved, and revisited - a visual lexicon developed over time through an elaborate, multifaceted shape-making practice. Like much of her past work, these paintings carry a distinct graphic sensibility, influenced by her background in graphic design and a passion for distilling form.