Diane Arenberg

2013 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI RECIPIENT

BA 1976, Interior Design

Professional Artist, Diane Arenberg Design
(Mequon, WI/Santa Fe, NM)

Diane Arenberg joined Forrer Business Interiors in Milwaukee, WI (1976-1983) where she worked as a designer for commercial office systems. In 1983, she joined Marilynn Schall and William Manley, both ASID Fellows, to create Commercial Design Consultants in Milwaukee. In 1986, Arenberg began studying Art Therapy and Alcoholism Counseling and went on to work at Elmbrook Hospital in Brookfield, WI, in their drug and alcohol rehab unit.   

Eventually, Arenberg felt the pull to become a fine artist, and decided the best learning route would be to study with artists whose work she admires.  She studied with pastel artists Sally Strand, Doug Dawson, Glenna Hartmann, Albert Handell, and Desmond O’Hagan; oil painters Yuqi Wang and Daniel Gerhartz; jewelers Judith Foster and Dale Smith; and ceramicist/sculptor Jim Kempes. 

Arenberg was co-owner of Art Escape Gallery and Art Escape Compound with fellow Purdue Alumna Kyle Zubatsky where they exhibited the work of 60 artists over a three-year period, as well as their own works.   

Arenberg is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers, an artist member of the Palette and Chisel in Chicago, Illinois, and a signature member of the Pastel Society of New Mexico. Her award winning works can be seen in Door County, Wisconsin at Fine Line Designs Gallery; in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at David Barnett Gallery; and in Santa Fe, New Mexico at Elysee Fine Art.

Community service has been an important part of Arenberg’s career. She has volunteered with charitable organizations in the Milwaukee Area including The Presbytery of Milwaukee- Camp Corbin Board, The Next Door Foundation, and The Child Abuse Prevention Fund (now a part of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin). She and her husband, Tom, were recently awarded the “Children’s Hero Award” by the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Auxilliary for their joint work in Child Abuse Prevention. Since moving to Santa Fe, Arenberg is Past President of the National Ghost Ranch Foundation and is currently a member of the Governing Board for the Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico.