Demi (artist)

Demi (born 1955) also known as Demi Rodríguez, is a Cuban-born American visual artist, known for her paintings of children.[1][2] She lives in Miami, Florida.[3][4]

Demi
Born (1955-10-06) October 6, 1955
Camagüey, Camagüey Province, Cuba
Other namesDEMI,
Demi Rodríguez
Alma materMiami Dade Community College
OccupationVisual artist
Known forPainting
SpouseArturo Rodríguez

Biography

She was born on October 6, 1955, in Camagüey, Camagüey Province, Cuba.[5] Demi is not her name from birth, however she primarily uses the mononym for her work.[5] When she was young her father was executed in Cuba for political reasons.[6][7] At the age of 6 she was sent to Puerto Rico to live with relatives she had not previously met.[5][7] In 1971, Demi moved to Florida to join her family.[7]

She attended Miami Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College), and received an A.A. degree.[5]

In her early career she worked as a bookkeeper.[8] In 1984, Demi married artist Arturo Rodríguez, whom she had met in 1978 at the former Meeting Point Gallery in Miami.[6][9][8] Demi started painting in 1984 by learning from Arturo, and she began exhibiting her art in 1987.[1][5][6] Her art primarily focuses on the portraits of children, often shown in situations that are trapping.[10] She uses her practice to raise awareness for children’s rights.[7][8]

Her artwork is in public museum collections, including the Lowe Art Museum, Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Gulf Coast Museum of Art, the Frost Art Museum, Tampa Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[10][11] She is one of the featured artists of Feminist Art Base at the Brooklyn Museum.[12]

See also

References
  1. Bearor, Karen Anne (1994). Chroma: Contemporary Painting and Drawing. Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts. p. 30.
  2. "La necesidad de crear..." El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). 1988-01-10. p. 30. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  3. The Papers of Latino & Latin American Artists. Smithsonian, Archives of American Art. 2000. pp. 12, 32.
  4. "Demi y Arturo Rodríguez, unidos en el arte y el amor". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). 1994-09-04. p. 62. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  5. Gracia, Jorge J. E.; Bosch, Lynette M. F.; Borland, Isabel Alvarez (2009-01-08). Identity, Memory, and Diaspora: Voices of Cuban-American Artists, Writers, and Philosophers. State University of New York Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7914-7891-2.
  6. Veciana-Suarez, Ana (2001-02-27). "Love & art". The Miami Herald. p. 208. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  7. "Demi". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  8. Kohen, Helen L. (1991-01-19). "Art Imitates Love". The Miami Herald. p. 55. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  9. "A Finding Aid to the Demi and Arturo Rodríguez papers, circa 1957-2016" (PDF). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
  10. "Demi". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  11. Damian, Carol (1997). Breaking Barriers: Selections from the Museum of Art's Permanent Contemporary Cuban Collection. Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale. Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale. p. 135.
  12. "DEMI". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
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