Joseph Demarais
American, 1927 - 1971
Died: 1971, New York, New York
Also Known as: Joe Demarais
Demarais was born in 1927, and died at the age of 44 in 1971. Known as an innovative printmaker, Demarais made hundreds of prints during his brief career. He pushed the limits of printmaking, using copper, zinc, masonite and acetate to achieve textural surfaces.
Nearly 50 years ago U.S. ambassadors praised artist Joseph Demarais for his innovative intaglio-relief prints. European cultures, keen on earth-tone colors, liked his choice of brown and white to show rotund nudes. A high-school music teacher before adopting art as a second profession, Demarais used his home as a studio and classroom. His rigid training in music influenced his productivity, pushing him to create more than 800 plates in seven years. He used copper, zinc, brass, acetate and masonite in his work. Demarais reached his plateau when museums in London, New York and Germany bought individual pieces for their permanent collections. The Smithsonian and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London have Demarais' work.
His historically unorthodox printmaking involved printing from smooth and incised surfaces so each print had texture. During his seven-year career as a printmaker, his three-dimensional impressions created on handmade paper were exhibited in more than 100 galleries and museums in the United States and Europe. The director and founder of the International Print Society, Franz Geierhaas, published "The Graphic Works of Joseph Demarais: A Catalogue Raisonne", detailing his life and work. Demarais passed away from heart complications in 1971, at age 44.
Person TypeIndividual
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