FRAN DIBBLE | "I am fascinated by water and its various forms. The droplet shapes in my works are a bridge between realism and abstraction - the shape we so readily identify as a droplet bears no resemblance to the actual form a small amount of liquid takes when it falls." |
While paint is Fran Dibble’s primary media, some of her works incorporate bronze casting and hand stitching. She enjoys the immediacy of paint; her interest in bronze casting is the product of working alongside husband Paul Dibble. Since 2002, her works have come together as multiple panel assemblages. These are most often as painted works on paper, but she also works on board and aluminium.
Fran draws inspiration from the array of shapes and textures in the natural environment, such as native and introduced flora, sea shells and aquatic life. With a BSc in Biochemistry and Botany, an MSc (Hons) in Biochemistry, and later, a BA majoring in Philosophy, she is also interested in shapes observed under a microscope, such as blood cells and fractals. Her work is also influenced by scientific theories, such as principles of gravity, and the diffusion of particles.
Fran has exhibited throughout New Zealand and her works are included in private collections here and abroad. The works she has done in bronze with fellow Creative Giant and husband Paul Dibble are in public and private collections around the world.
In 1997, Fran Dibble was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for services to art and in 2012 she was named an Honorary Fellow at the Universal College of Learning, Palmerston North. She is the author of Paul Dibble: The Large Works.
Fran was born in Newhaven, Connecticut, USA and immigrated to New Zealand as a teenager. She moved to Palmerston North in 1975.
"Palmerston North is a great place to raise a family without putting your own career development on hold. In the years I was at home looking after the kids, I was able to gain a third university degree and continue with my own artistic practice."
