DEMI - Solo show - Exhibitions - Salamatina Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEMI: One More Day on EarthFebruary 4 – April 2, 2011
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw that the light was good,and he separated the light from the darkness.—Genesis 1:3-4

MANHASSET, NY: The Salamatina Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by DEMI, one of the most critically acclaimed Cuban-American artists working in the United States. The exhibition will open with a champagne reception on Friday, February 4, from 6 – 8pm, and will continue until Saturday, April 2.

DEMI: One More Day on Earth presents an extensive body of work executed within the past five years. “The main theme,” the artist states, “is the notion of a Renaissance or renewal which is offered to me at the start of every day. I draw great inspiration from Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and its creation myth in which darkness and light represent the opposing forces of goodness and evil. These pictures are my interpretation of this elemental struggle, and the search for beauty and strength that informs my life and my work.”
One More Day on Earth represents a pivotal stage in DEMI’s career and a celebration of her mature artistic voice. “DEMI has created almost a new medium in her manipulation of acrylic paint,” writes art historian Lynette Bosch, “She is able to apply acrylics in the translucent layering that is the property of oils. In stretching her medium in defiance of the limitations of accepted practice and expectation, DEMI has broken through pictorial boundaries that would bind any other artist. These paintings are exceptional in imagery, content, and theme, but it is their technique that makes them significant artistic statements for those who value the manner in which an artist can reform our sense of materials.”
In addition to more than a dozen paintings the exhibition will feature a comprehensive selection of drawings executed in a variety of media, from watercolor to colored pencil and pen.
DEMI is a sobriquet which the artist adopted to indicate that her life was cut in half by exile. She was born in Camaguey in 1955, and her father was executed in Castro’s Cuba when she was still a child. In response to these devastating events, her family sent her to live with relatives in Puerto Rico, after which she settled in Miami. DEMI studied at Miami-Dade Community College, and was “newly-born” at the age of 29 when she met the gifted Cuban-American painter, Arturo Rodriguez. Together in 1983 they moved to Madrid, and DEMI immersed herself in a full year of Spanish culture, absorbing everything from Old Masters at the Prado to jazz concerts, ballet, and theater festivals. It was in Spain that DEMI began to paint for the first time.

DEMI’s work is highly acclaimed has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions for more than 25 years. Since 1998, the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art has been collecting DEMI's primary records (correspondence, notebooks, drawings, photographs, catalogues). In 2009, as part of the prestigious Art In Embassies program of the U.S. State Department, DEMI was personally invited by the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz, to display one of her works, Two Artists and Their Children of Their Imagination ([DATE?]), in the Embassy residence in the Vatican City.

DEMI and her husband, Arturo Rodriguez, live and work in Miami.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DEMI: One More Day on EarthFebruary 4 – April 2, 2011 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good,and he separated the light from the darkness.—Genesis 1:3-4 MANHASSET, NY: The Salamatina Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by DEMI, one of the most critically acclaimed Cuban-American artists working in the United States. The exhibition will open with a champagne reception on Friday, February 4, from 6 – 8pm, and will continue until Saturday, April 2. DEMI: One More Day on Earth presents an extensive body of work executed within the past five years. “The main theme,” the artist states, “is the notion of a Renaissance or renewal which is offered to me at the start of every day. I draw great inspiration from Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and its creation myth in which darkness and light represent the opposing forces of goodness and evil. These pictures are my interpretation of this elemental struggle, and the search for beauty and strength that informs my life and my work.” One More Day on Earth represents a pivotal stage in DEMI’s career and a celebration of her mature artistic voice. “DEMI has created almost a new medium in her manipulation of acrylic paint,” writes art historian Lynette Bosch, “She is able to apply acrylics in the translucent layering that is the property of oils. In stretching her medium in defiance of the limitations of accepted practice and expectation, DEMI has broken through pictorial boundaries that would bind any other artist. These paintings are exceptional in imagery, content, and theme, but it is their technique that makes them significant artistic statements for those who value the manner in which an artist can reform our sense of materials.” In addition to more than a dozen paintings the exhibition will feature a comprehensive selection of drawings executed in a variety of media, from watercolor to colored pencil and pen. DEMI is a sobriquet which the artist adopted to indicate that her life was cut in half by exile. She was born in Camaguey in 1955, and her father was executed in Castro’s Cuba when she was still a child. In response to these devastating events, her family sent her to live with relatives in Puerto Rico, after which she settled in Miami. DEMI studied at Miami-Dade Community College, and was “newly-born” at the age of 29 when she met the gifted Cuban-American painter, Arturo Rodriguez. Together in 1983 they moved to Madrid, and DEMI immersed herself in a full year of Spanish culture, absorbing everything from Old Masters at the Prado to jazz concerts, ballet, and theater festivals. It was in Spain that DEMI began to paint for the first time. DEMI’s work is highly acclaimed has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions for more than 25 years. Since 1998, the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art has been collecting DEMI's primary records (correspondence, notebooks, drawings, photographs, catalogues). In 2009, as part of the prestigious Art In Embassies program of the U.S. State Department, DEMI was personally invited by the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz, to display one of her works, Two Artists and Their Children of Their Imagination ([DATE?]), in the Embassy residence in the Vatican City. DEMI and her husband, Arturo Rodriguez, live and work in Miami.