ANA DEMERTZIS

“Fresco is the art of painting on fresh, moist plaster. This type of art form has been used for centuries. The pages of history and art reference books are filled with breathtaking examples. The mere mention of a painted fresco invokes visions of images, shrouded in mystery, painted on time ravaged walls. These images are the inspiration for my current botanicals, painted in fresco. I want to create works that have a sense of timelessness, as well as a sense of a past history and a glorious future.”

Her inspiration is derived from various locations that show ancient and antique fresco paintings, as well as the subtle beauty of local environments including, the frescos of Pompeii; early icons and pictorial decorations at the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus; mossy cottage walls of the Cotswold, England; the Mercado de Flores San Angel in Mexico; 16^th century frescos at the Cathedral de Santo Domingo, Oaxaca, Mexico; morning glories blooming on the wall of a burnt out building in the Bronx, New York City; floral paintings at Selby Gardens, Sarasota, Florida; and the angle trumpets growing in Nina Arico’s garden, in Florida.

Ms. Demertzis has researched traditional fresco and plaster techniques, and has experimented with various materials and processes. The result is a unique compositional surface that allows greater flexibility. Ultimately, she was able to produce the results desired for her body of work, which are large floral images on surfaces that suggest portions of ancient walls fragmented by the effects of time.

Ana Demertzis has studied and worked in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Spain, Greece, and China.