ARTIST INFORMATION

Through renderings of children in surreal and fantastical scenes, Demi explores the depth of human emotion from the perspective of a child affected by the turbulent world within which they exist. Forced to leave Cuba at the age of seven after the traumatizing events following the loss of her father to violent execution by firing squad, the string of alienation that ensued throughout her years of childhood and young adulthood influenced the style she has forged. Reminiscent of the deeply psychological works of Frida Kahlo, symbolist portraits of Gustav Klimt, with a desire to capture emotion as candidly as Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, Demi creates an all-encompassing wonderland for her audience. She directs scenes with a near cinematic quality that is both enticing and disturbing, calling to the work of other artists who have proved to be vanguard figures in this unique style of fantasy realism, such as Remedios Varo. Demi’s approach confronts emotional realities that are often minimized or muted, providing justice and validation to those affected.

Demi (*1955, Camaguey) works and resides in Miami, Florida. Notable group exhibitions include Color and Spice, Galeria Ocho, Miami, Florida (1986), Portraits + Self Portraits, Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (1988), Unbroken Ties: Dialogues in Cuban Art, NSU Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (2008), Figurative Art, Past and Present, The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, Miami, Florida (2009), I Paint My Reality: Surrealism in Latin America, NSU Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (2019-20). Solo shows include Demi, Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami, Florida (1987), Love and Life, Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Largo, Florida (2004), and Demi, Salamatina Gallery, New York, New York (2011). Her work resides in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC), Lowe Art Museum at University of Miami (Miami, FL), NSU Museum of Art (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Gulf Coast Museum of Art (Largo, FL), and The Philip and Patricia Frost Art Museum (Miami, FL).