ARTIST JAMIE DIAMOND
Jamie Diamond is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the construction of identity and intimacy through photography, performance, and film. For nearly two decades, she has examined the evolving nature of human connection in an increasingly mediated world, blurring the boundaries between the authentic and the artificial, revealing how photography not merely documents but records the complex fictions embedded in even our most personal images.
Art is the lens through which Jamie Diamond experiences and understands the world around her. She began oil painting at seven but it wasn't until her early twenties that she seriously started making art. Since then she has exhibited solo and in group shows at Fondazione Prada, Mass MoCA, The Bronx Museum, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Kunsthalle Erfurt, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Trapholt Museum, and Museo d'Arte Contemporanea della Sicilia, among others. She holds an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (2008) and a BA from the University of Wisconsin (2005).
- Exhibition at Fondazione Prada · Osservatorio, Milan
- NYFA Fellowship Award in Photography
- Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship Award
- The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation
- Exhibition at Mass MoCA · Walk in My Shoes
- Cinematographer and producer · A Minor Variation (2018)
- Director and producer · Skin Hunger (2024) · Watermill Center & Anthology Film Archives
- Head of Undergraduate Photography · University of Pennsylvania
- Residencies: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum · MassMoCA · Watermill Center · Mana Contemporary
Jamie Diamond When I had my first solo exhibition in New York with Moeller Snow Gallery, I exhibited for the first time my Constructed Family Portraits, a series in which I created artificial families of strangers for the camera. When the work was being reviewed, many people assumed I was a 40-year-old man and wrote as such, using the wrong pronoun and even creating false narratives about me and my own family history.
Jamie Diamond When my son was three months old, a very close friend approached me and asked if I would be the Director of Photography for his upcoming short film. Initially I said no. I was already overwhelmed with my professional art and teaching career and now the new role of being a mother seemed almost impossible. However, after some persuasion I agreed and I'm very grateful that I did. I don't see filmmaking as an extension of my practice. They of course intimately relate, but I personally see them as two disparate things.
Jamie Diamond Since this was my first experience working on set, there were a few things I wasn't prepared for, like film jargon and technical vernacular. While I consider myself proficient technically and had a very clear visual vision, I found it difficult at times to communicate and direct my crew.
Jamie Diamond On the film front, I am in the process of co-writing and co-directing a feature film. For my visual art practice, I recently started a new body of work on platonic intimacy.
Jamie Diamond The art world is always changing, which is both exciting and scary. Anyone can take pictures and make beautiful images. However, not everyone can make art. There is definitely a distinction.
"Anyone can take pictures and make beautiful images. Not everyone can make art. There is definitely a distinction."
Jamie DiamondJamie Diamond At the moment I am really enjoying Cindy Sherman's social media handle.
