Subtle, Delicate, & Captivating
By Farah Amin
Demos is aware of the subtle power of black that can have on the observer “For me, black has this deep power; it’s dangerous, but it also quiets the mind and lets the viewer really look at the work,” Demos says.
The past several year for him was all about exploring the potentials and limits of black canvases and the color’s subtle effect on optics and perception. “My work is about material play,” Demos said of a large-scale canvases hanging on the walls of a studio, Dumbo where he spent his time creating them.
His painting uses a complex and multi-faceted technique. He carefully positions the canvas against a background that is totally matte (Demos works on canvases that are dyed) giving off the impression of graceful figures emerging from the sky.
Peter Demos is a Brooklyn based artist and an alumnus of the CUNY Hunter College, and the Kansas Art Institute. His work has been exhibited in his native city’s The Journal Gallery and David Richard Contemporary in Santa Fe. In New York he has also shown his art in Deitch Projects, The Sculpture Center and Mixed Greens.
With what seems like the start of promising career Demos has been recognized from the 2011 Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Studio Residency and the 2009 Tony Smith Award.
