Nathan’s current work focuses on digital sculpture, specifically, the potential for virtual reality (VR) based human input. Nathan creates work from within a VR artist studio, creating a library of digital brushes for use in the open source virtual reality application TiltBrush. Using these custom brushes DiPietro ‘paints’ digital sculptures of regional NW plantlife.
Twisting madrona trees are meticulously hand painted with barks and branches, leaves and berries. These detailed tree models are then wrapped in invasive species such as English ivy or Himalayan blackberries in an attempt to depict a contemporary NW forest landscape. Various approaches including photogrammetry scanning, flower arranging, and digital sculpting are also used to explore this subject.
Nathan’s work has been displayed as large scale digital prints, in 360 projection domes, lightboxes, holograms, as well as AR/VR experiences.
Nathan DiPietro received his BFA from Central Washington University in 2003 and is represented in Seattle by Woodside/Braseth Gallery. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, Art LTD, The Seattle Times, and The Stranger. He has been the recipient of a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, two Art 4 Culture Special Project Grants, an Artist Trust GAP Grant, and the 2016 Neddy Artist Award in painting. In 2020 Nathan was a resident artist at The Bloedel Reserve as well as the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. In 2022 Nathan’s video work, from collaboration with Chilean artists and scientists, was included in Tiempos de Muralismo at the European Cultural Center, Venice, Italy.