About:
Growing up in an experimental town built by A.T. Stewart on Long Island New York that was intended to mediate the lives of workers in his NYC dry goods stores, William Demaria over the years has become acutely aware of the subtle network of soft barriers embodied in forms of bridge heights, bus stops, and one way streets that divide the suburban landscape. William Demaria sees these soft barriers as contemporary bullworks for class division and in many cases racism. Combining his experience with his interest in nonwestern systems of aesthetics, William Demaria makes paintings and prints that coopts this charged network of soft barriers to arrive at work which he believes conveys his understanding of his place within the constructed landscape.
Education:
Cornell University 2020 BFA
Long Island Academy of Fine Art 2014- 2017
Solo show:
“A Portrait in Other Fractured Landscapes” (2018), Solo Show
Collaborative Shows:
“Scenes from an Honest Delusion and Other Veracious Mistakes” (2019), William Demaria and Aiden Walker
“Memories of a Faded Landscape” (2019), William Demaria and Steven McDonald
Group Shows:
2019
7 Fingers, No Exceptions!, IPCNY Printfest 2019, Kala Art Institute SUMMER SALE! JULY 25, 26, 27, Coalesce, RawExpo 5, I See You (IC/CU) 2019,
2018
ReSearching, IPCNY Printfest 2018, I See You (IC/CU) 2018, 93rd Annual Hotel Ezra Cornell Gala,
2017
CWR Refugee Support Gala at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell Mini Makers Faire, Raw Expo 3, “Obscuring the Line: Charting Liminal Spaces,"
Artist Residencies:
Kala Art Institute, Berkley, Ca Summer 2019
Andrew Raftery, Providence, RI Summer 2018
The Ink Shop, Ithaca, NY Fall 2019
Professional Memberships:
EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
Manhattan Graphics Center
Grants & Awards:
Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholars (2018-present)
Cornell Council for the Arts Grant (2019)
Kip Brady Prize (2018)
Press:
https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/dialoguing-pen-plate-and-artist