Valeria Cray Dihaan
“Public Art can create a sense of hopefulness and wonder by engaging viewers and presenting a unique and distinct focal point.”
A social activist, Valeria Cray-Dihaan believes that art can uplift people. A sculptor, artist and educator, she works in the mediums of ceramics, copper, aluminum, steel, iron, acetate, jute, textiles, plexiglas and wood.
Working with triangles and rectangles gives me the ability to create tensions. I look at my work as being rhythms and movements with lines growing within themselves as they speak out. Exploring a variety of shapes and sizes allows me to experience new challenges.
The only African American female modern artist with a sculpture in the permanent collection of Buffalo’s Albright Knox Art Gallery, Cray –Dihaan’s sculpture is entitled Adam and Eve.
Her experience in creating public art includes spearheading the tile painting for the tile mural quilt installation inside the Apollo Theatre on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, NY.
“Public Art can create a sense of hopefulness and wonder by engaging viewers and presenting a unique and distinct focal point.”
A social activist, Valeria Cray-Dihaan believes that art can uplift people. A sculptor, artist and educator, she works in the mediums of ceramics, copper, aluminum, steel, iron, acetate, jute, textiles, plexiglas and wood.
Working with triangles and rectangles gives me the ability to create tensions. I look at my work as being rhythms and movements with lines growing within themselves as they speak out. Exploring a variety of shapes and sizes allows me to experience new challenges.
The only African American female modern artist with a sculpture in the permanent collection of Buffalo’s Albright Knox Art Gallery, Cray –Dihaan’s sculpture is entitled Adam and Eve.
Her experience in creating public art includes spearheading the tile painting for the tile mural quilt installation inside the Apollo Theatre on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, NY.
Plans for the construction of the Merriweather Library on Jefferson Avenue included the creation of a design for a building’s exterior doors. Cray Dihaan was commissioned to design them incorporating African themes dominate in the building’s architecture. She selected Ghanaian Gye Name symbols for the hardwood front and rear doors. These library doors were installed in 2006.
In 1995, she organized a group of women, mainly customers and friends, and formed 50 Women With A Vision, a non-profit community group which sponsored an annual Jefferson Avenue Arts Festival which for ten years celebrated visual and performing arts. She feels she has benefited as well as the other Masten District community business owners and residents, from the participation in various community art projects and events.
In support letters dated October 14, 2005 and November 3, 2005, her work and community activism are highlighted:
Former Buffalo Masten District Councilmember Antoine Thompson states: “…her (Valerian Cray-Dihaan’s) professional art portfolio is top notch, and her commitment to community through volunteer efforts and community activism is unrivaled.”
Foit Albert Association Project Designer and Architect, Jerry Albert, states: “…I was later delighted to see the work of an individual trained in New York City and abroad with strong local ties to our community. Her (Valeria Cray-Dihaan’s) work has a sophisticated and well –informed use of materials. She draws extensively from a diverse life experience and truly represents the community that she is so much a part of.”
My formal art education includes degrees from Pratt Institute and the University at Buffalo. Locally I have shown my work at various spaces and galleries.
Having the opportunity to work in a professional sheet metal company, Denler’s Metal Work, I discovered that my skills and abilities continue to blossom beyond my initial academic training in metal work.
My work represents the soul of me, as an artist.
