Dan Dempster, condensed c.v.

Daniel C. Dempster

email: dandem@liquidlight.bm
www.liquidlight.bm
| Home |

Strachey's Scroll, ©Daniel C. Dempster 1997. Ireland Island, Somerset, Bermuda. Coloured pencil on Ingres, 10 x 25 inches, 25.5 x 63 cm. Private collection.

Born 1963.

Outline:

"The play of light through the water is this artist's chosen instrument and on it he plays with talent and versatility... another skein of light shimmering through the water washing through the interstices of flat, cracked rocks, demonstrates the artist at the height of his talent. The skill with which he blends the fluid with the firm and renders patterns of light as counterpoint to the formations and fissures of in the rock is modestly downplayed by the gentlest of eyes and a nearly monochromatic colour scheme. It is the balance of Ying and Yang forces resulting in a natural peace remarkably satisfying to both life and spirit." Andrew Trimingham, The Mid-Ocean News, Friday, September 27, 1991.

Dan Dempster is known for his detailed drawings and magical paintings of the tidal rock pools and shoreline of Bermuda. In 2008 Mr. Dempster was invited to become an artist member of the Copley Society of Art in Boston, the oldest non-profit artist association in America. His most recent major painting, Bermuda Shallows, was selected for both the Copley Society's 2009 juried Summer Members' Show and the New Hampshire Institute of Art Biennial 2009 where it was an award winner.

Mr. Dempster has been a full-time artist since 1989, his first solo exhibition in Bermuda at Bacardi International in 1991. He has shown in the Bermuda National Gallery Biennials from 1994-2006. Mr. Dempster is listed in New York Contemporary Art Galleries and the Art in America Guide to Galleries, Museums and Artists, having had two solo shows and over 30 group shows in New York City, represented by Fulcrum at Broome & Wooster from 1994-2004. He was most recently Artist in Residence at Buckingham, St. George's (Oct-Dec 2005) for the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

Mr. Dempster was educated at Mt. St. Agnes and Warwick Academy, earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Waterloo and finished post-graduate studies at Sheridan College with High Honours. He served for three years as Treasurer of the Bermuda Arts Council, was Vice-President of the Bermuda Society of Arts, and is a Fellow of the Masterworks Foundation.

In Bermuda Mr. Dempster's work is in the collections of Government House, the Bank of Bermuda, the Coral Beach Club, Swiss Re, Colonial Insurance, Cox Hallett Wilkinson, the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art and other private collections both here and abroad. Over the years he has shown at the Bermuda National Gallery, the Masterworks Foundation, Heritage House, Windjammer Galleries, Nicholas Lusher Fine Art, Burnaby Gallery, Kafu Gallery, the Bermuda Art Centre at Dockyard and the Bda Society of Art.

Selected Solo & Group Exhibitions:

2009
Masterworworks Museum of Bermuda Art, "Get the Lead Out 2" Camden, Bermuda.
New Hampshire Institute of Art, "Biennial 2009" Manchester, NH.
Copley Society of Art "Summer Members' Show: Shimmer" Boston, MA.

2008
Copley Society of Art "New Members' Show: Shimmer" Boston, MA.
M2L, "Tidepools:Fractal Shallows" Boylston Street, Boston.

2006
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Bacardi Limited Biennial 2006: Exhibition of Contemporary Bermuda Art" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.

2005
Bermuda National Trust, Buckingham, St. George's, Bermuda.
Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, "Sky, Sand Sea" Rose Garden Gallery, Camden, Bermuda.
Desmond Fountain Gallery, "Holiday Eight" Front Street, Bermuda.
Bermuda Society of Art, "Dan Dempster: New Oils" The Edinburgh Gallery, City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda.

2004
Government House, "Windswept" Commissioned by Lady Vereker. Cedar installation with Chesley Trott, Langton Hill, Bermuda.
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Bacardi Limited Biennial 2004" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.

2003
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Art: New Genre" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda.

2002
The Bermuda Festival, "Art" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Bacardi Limited Biennial 2002" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.
Edinburgh Gallery, "En Plein Air - Oil Paintings" Bermuda Society of Art, City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. June 2002.

2001
Edinburgh Gallery, "Sunbeams - Oil Paintings" Bermuda Society of Art, City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. June 2002.

2000
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Bacardi Limited Biennial 2000" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.

1999
Bermuda Society of Arts Gallery, "Grape Bay" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. March 1999.
Masterworks Foundation Gallery, "Grape Bay" Hamilton, Bermuda. 26 February - 10 March 1999.

1998
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Bacardi Limited Biennial 1998" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.
Sumner Museum and Archives, "Sculpture: The 3-D Process" 1201 M Street, Washington, DC. 7 April - 25 June 1998.
District of Columbia Arts Center, "Waterworks" 2438 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC. 20 February - 29 March 1987.

Emory University, "Ithuriel" Dobbs Center Art Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.12 - 31 January 1998. Brochure.
Sandpiper, ©Daniel C. Dempster 1997. Windsor Beach, Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Coloured pencil on Ingres, 7 x 10.75 inches, 18 x 27.5 cm. Private Collection.

1997
Nicholas Lusher Fine Art, "Bermuda Shallows" Hamilton, Bda. 25 November 1997 - 09 January 1998. Brochure.
Fulcrum Gallery Soho,"Timewrack & Tide" 480 Broome & Wooster, NY, NY. 25 October - 07 December 1997. Brochure.
Masterworks Foundation "Artists Up Front Street" retrospective at the Bermuda Society of Arts Gallery. 8 Aug-12 Sep.
Peninsula Fine Arts Center, "Waterworks" 101 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA. 10 May-07 July 1997. Monograph.

1996
Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, "Third Bienniale of Painting of the Carribean and Central America." Catalogue.
Bermuda Society of Arts, "Ithuriel" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda.
Masterworks Foundation "Artists Up Front Street" at the Bermuda Society of Arts Gallery.
The Bermuda National Gallery "2nd Biennial 1996" City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda. Catalogue.
Masterworks Foundation Gallery, "Iron Moss" Hamilton, Bermuda. 12-25 April.
Fulcrum Gallery Soho, "The Water Planet" 144 Mercer Street, New York, NY. 17 February-25 March.

1994
The Bermuda National Gallery, "Biennial 94: A Celebration of Excellence: The Best of Bermuda."
Fulcrum Gallery SoHo, Dempster, Fugate-Wilcox & Kobayashi" 144 Mercer Street, New York, NY.
The Clocktower Building, "Out of Context" Royal Naval Dockyard, Ireland Island, Bermuda.

1993
Bermuda Society of Arts, "Context" with Jodie Tucker-Webster, City Hall & Arts Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda.

1991
Bacardi International, "Waterworks" Bacardi Building, Hamilton, Bermuda.

Major Collections:

Government House, Bermuda
Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, Bermuda
The Bank of Bermuda
Colonial Insurance Limited, Bermuda
The Coral Beach Club, Bermuda
Cox, Hallet, Wilkinson, Bermuda
Yeoman International Leasing, Dublin
G.J. Maloney & Co., Dublin
Swiss Re

Selected Reviews & Articles:

Andrew Trimingham, "Fountain Gallery show is the best of the year" The Royal Gazette. Tuesday, November 8, 2005.
Rene Hill, "New show - and new focus - for artist Dempster" The Royal Gazette. 21 September, 2005. pp. 33, 35. photos.
Gareth Finighan, "A Show with a difference" The Royal Gazette. 08 January 1998. p11.
Spotlight "Dan Dempster at Fulcrum" Gallery Guide, New York, November 1997.
Emma Mitchell, "Nature of Things" The Mid-Ocean News. 05 December 1997. p10.
"Art and Fashion Tribute with Miss Russia, Anna Malova" Manhattan Magazine, Summer 1997. photos pp. 38-40, 47
Mark St. John Erickson, "Water dazzles in sea scenes of area artist" Daily Press, NN. VA. Sunday, May 25, 1997. pp I1, 3. photos.
Peter Barton, "Sensational Evidence and Sensual Reflections." Essay in "Waterworks." PFAC, Virginia 1997.
Dr. J. Bowyer Bell, "Dan Dempster: Timewrack and Tide, The Alchemy of Actual Art." Fulcrum, New York. 14 Feb. 1997.
Andrew Trimingham, "Less is more at BSoA" The Mid-Ocean News. 06 December 1996. p10.
Andrew Trimingham, "Maximum pleasure from minimalist show" The Mid-Ocean News. 29 Nov 1996.p13.
Raymond Hainey, "Dempster's work worth a look, or maybe a dip" The Royal Gazette. 18 Nov 1996. p17.
Danny Sinopoli, "Beauty of Dempster's decay" The Royal Gazette. 24 April 1996. p17.
Andrew Trimingham "Dempster's steel show proves 'restful, energising'" The Mid-Ocean News. 01 Mar96 p14.
Catherine Draycott "Solo in SoHo" The Bermudian Magazine. February 1996. p17-19. photo

Published Writings:

"Tactical Thinking" Column. Preview Magazine. April - October 1999.
"Hurricane Season: Tactical Thinking in the Information Age" Essay. Mensa Bulletin, the Magazine of American Mensa, Houston, Texas. September 1997, No. 409. cover photo.
"Arts Help Heal Bermuda's Identity Crisis" Essay. The Bermudian Magazine. May 1995.
"The Art of Bruce Stuart" Essay introduction. 94 pages. Ltd. edition, hardcover & softcover. Carter & Carter, Oakville, Ontario, Canada. 1992.

Catalogues, References:

"Bacardi Limited Biennial" The Bermuda National Gallery. Catalogues: 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006.
"Dan Dempster: "Waterworks"" 1990-1997. ISBN 1-886845-03-4. Softcover, 20 pages, 12 colour plates, essay by Peter Barton. Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Affiliate of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, P.O. Box 6438, Newport News, VA 23606.
"3rd Bienniale of Painting of the Carribean and Central America" Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo. Catalogue.
"New York Contemporary Art Galleries" Renee Phillips, Manhattan Arts, New York, NY.
"Guide to Galleries, Museums and Artists" Art in America.

Education:

D.C.A. magna cum laude 1990, Sheridan College
Post-Graduate Diploma in Computer Animation. Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario.

B.A. 1989, University of Waterloo
Bachelor of Arts. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.

Diploma of Arts & Science 1982. Bermuda College, Paget, Bermuda.
Sir George Summers Chapter I.O.D.E. Scholarship.

B.S.S.C. 1980 Warwick Academy
University of London General Certificate of Education (14 "O" Levels)
American International (AIG) Award
Princess Hotels Award.

AboveHungry Bay, ©Daniel C. Dempster 1995. Hungry Bay, Paget, Bermuda. Coloured pencil on Ingres, 5.25 x 7.25 inches, 13 x 18.5 cm.