Claudia DeMonte facts for kids

Claudia DeMonte (born 1947) is an American artist who creates art using many different materials, like sculptures, collages, and digital prints. She is famous for exploring "what it means to be a modern woman" and showing different world cultures in her art.

Her artwork is inspired by her Catholic upbringing, including the colorful traditions and ceremonies of the Catholic Church. She is also interested in "outsider art" (art made by people without formal training), global ideas, identity, feminism (equal rights for women), and social responsibility. Her many travels around the world and her awareness of social issues have greatly shaped her art.

Early Life

Claudia DeMonte was born in 1947 in Astoria, New York. She grew up in a neighborhood with many different cultures. Her family had a traditional Italian background, and she received a strong Catholic education. Her father worked as an insurance broker and was involved in local government. Her mother, Ammeda Heiss DeMonte, was also very active in their community.

Education

Claudia DeMonte studied art history at the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore, earning her first degree in 1969. She then got her master's degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1971. During her studies, she was inspired by art historian Ruth Watkins and textile artist Nell Sonnemann, who were both independent and well-traveled women.

In 2006, the College of Santa Fe gave her an honorary doctorate degree.

Personal Life

DeMonte married Ed McGowin, who is also an artist, in 1977. Today, she lives and works in both New York City and Miami, Florida.

Career

Early in her career, Claudia DeMonte became interested in conceptual art. This is art where the idea behind the artwork is more important than the finished product. She was especially inspired by a movement called Arte Povera, which used everyday materials.

While in college, she was expected to make traditional art. Instead, she created interactive exhibits. For example, she traded T-shirts with her name on them (like the Delmonte food logo) and hand-decorated photos of herself. She also traded objects she collected. These "trading shows" needed people to participate to work, and they were very popular. One show at the Baltimore Museum even set an attendance record!

Her first big opportunity came when her work was shown in important exhibitions that traveled in Europe.

In 1976, DeMonte started making dolls, using her hands more directly. Her art was always very "personal" and "autobiographical," often about her family and her childhood. She moved back to New York with Ed McGowin in 1976 because she felt the art scene in Washington, D.C., wasn't as respected as politics. She missed the "excitement" and "anonymity" of New York City. Even with some early support, it was hard for her to get established in the New York art world at first.

In 1977, she rented a studio at P.S. 1 in Queens, which helped her connect more with the New York art scene. She started getting significant press coverage in 1980. She kept showing her work in group exhibitions, often in "alternative spaces" (places other than traditional galleries). Her big breakthrough finally happened in 1983 when she joined Gracie Mansion’s new art gallery, which supported her unique style.

By the mid-1980s, the art scene in the East Village was thriving, and DeMonte's art was being shown all over the country and internationally. Around this time, her art began to explore "universal" themes while still being very personal. This happened because she traveled a lot with McGowin. In a 1991 interview, she said they had visited 50 countries in ten years! A trip to the Deep South in 1985 also sparked her interest in folk art and influenced the materials she used.

In the 2000s, DeMonte took on several important projects. In 2000, she organized an exhibition called Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art. It featured artwork from female artists in 177 countries, showing what "woman" meant to them. This show toured 22 places and led to a book. From 2000 to 2007, her touring exhibition Real Beauty: A Celebration of Diversity and Global Culture displayed 140 handmade dolls by women artists from around the world. This project explored beauty standards and cultures, and how globalism affects traditional objects.

In 2009, a book called Claudia DeMonte was released to go with a big show of her work. It included essays by important art critics.

Teaching

Claudia DeMonte taught at the University of Maryland for 33 years. She won awards for her teaching, including the Distinguished Scholar Teacher Award in 1997. When she retired in 2004, she was named professor emerita. She also led the Art Workshop program at the New School for Social Research from 1980 to 1990.

Exhibitions

Claudia DeMonte has had more than 100 solo exhibitions (shows just of her work) and over 500 group exhibitions (shows with other artists). Her art is also part of many private, public, and corporate collections around the world.

Select Solo Exhibitions

• 2020 June Kelly Gallery, New York, N.Y.
• 2019 Binomial: Claudia DeMonte & Ed McGowin, Lowe Art Museum, Miami, FL
• 2018 Memento Vivere: Sculpture and Installations, June Kelly Gallery, New York
• 2016 Memory Keepers: Sculpture and Installations, June Kelly Gallery, New York
• 2012 Abundance: Sculpture/Installation, June Kelly Gallery, New York
• 2011 Claudia DeMonte: Retrospective, Cora Miller Gallery, York College of Pennsylvania
• 2009 Claudia DeMonte: The Luxury of Exercise, June Kelly Gallery, New York
• 2007 Empowered Objects: New Sculpture, June Kelly Gallery, New York
• 2004 Retrospective, Tallinn Kunstihoone, Tallinn, Estonia
• 1998 Claudia DeMonte: Retrospective, Chokladfabriken, Malmo, Sweden
• 1978 Trade Piece, Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans; Baltimore Museum of Art; Franklin Furnace, New York City, NY; American Cultural Center, Paris
• 1977 Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Select Group Exhibitions

• 50 Works from the Vogel Collection (shown in various museums like Honolulu Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, Mississippi Museum of Art)
• Journee Internationale de la femme, UNESCO, Paris, France
• American Narrative Art, Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas
• Biennial, Indianapolis Museum
• New Painting New York, P.S. l, New York
• The New York Scene, Liesbeth Lips Gallery, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Projects

• 2019-20 The World is a Handkerchief, a touring exhibition she co-curated.
• 2015 Between the Lines: A Coloring Book by Contemporary Artists, Volume 5
• 2000-07 Real Beauty: A Celebration of Diversity and Global Culture, a touring exhibition.
• 2000-07 Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art, a national and international exhibition.

Select Public Collections

Claudia DeMonte's art is held in many important public collections, including:

• Bass Museum
• Brooklyn Museum of Art
• Corcoran Gallery of Art
• Flint Institute of Arts
• Indianapolis Museum of Art
• Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
• Mississippi Museum of Art
• New Orleans Museum of Art
• Queens Museum
• University of Michigan Museum of Art

Honors and Awards

DeMonte has received many honors and awards for her work.

• 2014 Winner, The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt for "Golden Egg," New York City
• 2014 "Best in Feminist Art & Scholarship" for her exhibition "La Forza del Destino"
• 2006 Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris, Causa, College of Santa Fe. NM
• 2005 Professor Emerita, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
• 2003 Art Award, Mobile Museum of Art, AL
• 1998 Design Award for "Installation of The Wheel of Justice" in New York City
• 1997 Distinguished Scholar/Teacher, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
• 1989 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Sculpture

Commissions

Claudia DeMonte has been commissioned to create art for various public and private spaces.

• 2006-08 Commitment to Valor, Courageous Rescue, Bravery for Others, and Heroic Protectors, for Broward County Fire Rescue, Florida
• 2004-06 Santa Rosa Fountain, for the city of Santa Rosa, New Mexico
• 2002-04 We Are One, for the University of Northern Iowa
• 1998 Socorro Wheel of History, for Socorro, New Mexico
• 1998 Wheel of Justice, for the Queens Supreme Court, New York City
• 1993 Animal Count, for a school in Queens, New York City
• 1990 Shrine to Learning, for the Clarendon Public Library, Brooklyn, New York
• 1970 Mural, for Astoria Park, Queens, New York City