Jason DeMarte
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- Early Bird
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- Morning Mint Dew
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- Goldfinch
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- Corn Syrup
Artist Statement
Confected examines the cultural desire to idealize the natural world. The veneer of material desire and constructed natural beauty is explored by creating fictional tableaus to speak about a state of disenchantment. By creating scenes that are controlled and composed, the work speaks to a cultural obsession with beauty, perfection, and indulgence. Examining how these material desires are applied to the natural world, the work metaphorically explores this interplay of contrived and natural. By “improving” the natural elements with lighting and photography, the objects – once found in nature – are treated more like commercial goods. The compositions are carefully arranged, and then “sweetened” with candies, syrup and brightly colored products to indulge the senses, further reflecting our elusive attention and admiration in a culture that inevitably desires more.
Jason DeMarte’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums, both nationally and internationally. He is currently represented by Rule Gallery in Denver Colorado and is part of the Photographers Showcase at Photo-Eye Gallery in Santa Fe. His work has appeared in journals, textbooks and publications including; The Huffington Post, Feature Shoot, A Short Course in Digital Photography, The Elements of Photography, Six years later, Photo Review, the Wynwood Arts Magazine, British Journal of Photography, the Black Warrior Review, and the Oxford American. Some of Jason’s notable exhibitions include being the featured artist in the exhibition The Museum of Un-natural History at Clamp Art Gallery in NYC. Solo exhibitions at Rule Gallery in Denver Colorado, Wessell Synman Gallery in Cape Town South Africa, and the Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography in Detroit Michigan. Jason’s work is also part of the Museum of Contemporary Photography’s Midwest Photographers Project.