New Art Exhibition at Kean University Features Line Drawings Inspired by Italy

Disabled artist Diane Pokorski “reinvents” herself through pen and ink drawings 

UNION, N.J. – A new exhibition at Kean University’s Nancy Dryfoos Gallery in Union, Diane Pokorski: A Reinvention, is a collection of line drawings inspired by the art and culture of Italy and informed by the artist’s disability. A Reinvention will be on display through Wednesday, May 30. 

“Pokorski’s artworks are consistently spirited and remarkably detailed,” said Neil Tetkowski, director of Kean University Galleries. “The drawings are done in pen and ink; the simplicity of staying with black and white provides for clarity in these beautifully interpreted images.”  

Pokorski spent her earlier years in Italy, and was inspired by the picturesque Tuscan landscape, Renaissance art, Medieval architecture and fashion sense of Florence. She later returned to the United States and became a master seamstress at the Fashion Institute of Technology. 

In 2001, Pokorski sustained a severe brain aneurysm that caused aphasia, blindness in one eye and partial paralysis that affected her ability to walk. Through years of rehabilitation, she remained focused on her acute sense of creativity and reinvented herself as an artist, drawing scenes from her beloved Italy. 

Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public. For more information, email galleries@kean.edu, call (908) 737-0392 or visit www.kean.edu/galleries.

Nancy Dryfoos Gallery hours: 

Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Saturday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sunday 1-10 p.m.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Diane Pokorski’s A Reinvention, on display at Kean University in Union through May 30, is a collection of line drawings inspired by the artist’s love of Italy and informed by her acquired disability. 

Millie Gonzalez

University Relations  

Kean University

mgonzalez@kean.edu | (908) 737-0586