Interview with David Demers
By Linlin Chen

1. As I know, you used photography as a major medium before, why do you choose watercolor this time? Is it a casual attempt, or a more serious shift in your art practice?

I have been using both mediums and trying to bring them together in my work. Both watercolor and photography are mysterious. Water will take the ink to places that I do not want it to go, and a camera will capture things that I did not intend to capture. I try to give both mediums the greatest freedom as possible, then I will edit and layer them until I am satisfied with the image. Both mediums help me constantly examine my aesthetic decisions, which I think is very important for the growth of an artist.

2. No matter photographs or paintings you made, they are abstract, is abstract art the most comfortable form to you?

It is true that I am most comfortable making abstract images. I am tired of irony. I want the image to be a surprise for the viewer and for me. I want the viewer to find poetry in their own associations and not drag them down a road that they have been dragged down a million times before. I make images that are organic. They have all the components of composition and color that I feel a good image should have. An image that is not easily quantifiable is one that will always present you with new ideas and stimulate your imagination. This is positive and life affirming.

3. Your works are less “contemporary,” in terms of tackle and respond to current social issues, do you hide yourself in a comfortable zone in abstract forms, or are there any hidden lines that we don’t see yet?

I feel that my work is a direct response to our present reality, because, I am trying to let the medium speak for itself. I mean that the ink that is flowing of its own free will or the photograph that is being taken without a camera will most likely be a more truthful and efficient voice for prevailing energies (contemporary issues) than if I were to try to represent them myself with my own clouded perspective.

4. Is there a natural circle out of which you make art? Say, what strikes you at first and makes you want to make art, and how you capture the idea and pin it down?

This is an excellent question. What makes me want to create art is a combination of ego (wanting to be recognized and appreciated), a desire to make something beautiful that will inspire people, and the need to ask myself questions about my existence. I am not interested in painting nature and I don't want her to use me as her brush, either; I want to let her do the work and then help her with the editing. I guess that this is a type of observational art. I want to be the catalyst for beautiful things to happen. As I slowly become a better person I imagine they will. 

I also want to add that I have been deeply influenced by Asian art -I think that the Chinese aesthetic is extremely beautiful, especially that of the Song dynasties.

I am looking forward to my solo show at Aroundspace Gallery in Shanghai. Aroundspace represents many of my favorite Chinese artists and it is an honor to exhibit there.

5. If not to be an artist, what other profession you would probably choose in your life?

If i weren't an artist I would be a professional tennis player, I am definitely too old for this, I dunno.