DENNIS A. DEZMAIN
244 N. TRADEWINDS
AVE.
LAUDERDALE BY THE
SEA, FL. 33308
(C)954-651-8585/
(H)954-771-5099
BIO
Born in Oakland, California,
in 1947, Dennis Dezmain moved to New York at the age of five where he was
raised. At the age of seven he found a paint capsule and knew that art would
somehow be art of his destiny. He
attended engineering college, served as a helicopter crew chief in the Vietnam
War and later settled in Florida where he attended F.S.U. and graduated with a
B.F.A. in sculpture. After graduation, he briefly moved to Indianapolis where
he built exhibits at the Children’s Museum receiving local and national
recognition. Returning to Florida, he received several sculpture commissions,
and worked on thirteen motion pictures as a scenic artist. He also attended
F.A.U. and received a certificate in Art Education (K-12). He also has a
Florida State General Contractors license used for architectural work.
During his career, he has
earned several awards and had written articles about his work. He is
currently designing and
constructing small modern sculptures following an architectural trend along
with textured relief paintings depicting contemporary themes.
Dezmain has been inspired by
David Smith, Frank Lloyd Wright, Kandinsky, and John Henry.
This portfolio shows the past and present sculptures that were conceived and forged by my directive in pursuing an approach to sculpture blending geometry, architecture, and the elements of art. The most important concept is the placement of objects in a balanced visual space relationship that starts a meaningful search in the imagination and creative mind. Not without its importance, is the introduction of color. However, color is an applied element to help in the congruity of the artwork. All art has a conformity to color; however, I use it for a visual balance along with the use of various materials such as brass, copper, rope, stainless steel, etc.
Please enjoy my presentation, and remember these sculptures were designed for larger environments.
Thank you for viewing.
Dennis
This sculpture was designed from an off take of the Olympics long boat rowing contest. The materials are a ceramic base with an aluminum boat manned by steel glass cutters as boatsmen. The oars are aluminum welding rods with hammered ends attached to metal clothespin springs.
This sculpture was a statement about the brutal conditions that our fellow humans on Earth are going through facing wars, famine, torture, social inequality, etc. The aluminum pieces are heated and hammered to a flattened form to suggest a head of individuality, each one being unique. The lower aluminum body is again heated and severally hammered and stressed along with the twisted rectangle shape. The overall heights suggest a divergent displacement of humanity, a group of people seeking refuge under desperate conditions.
Thankyou for viewing.
Dennis
Longhorn is a mixed media painted sculpture on a marble stone base. The materials used are various metal objects that were selected because of their shapes, being congruent to the four design elements in nature. Again, some objects are found and hand made. The brass cleat gave the title to the sculpture, reminiscent of the Texas cattle. The arrangement on the base is attributed to each objects size, shape, and individual visual statement of contrasting forms. The spaced relationship also demonstrates an artistic concern for the overall scheme presenting a visual geometric form. The introduction of solid line and a coned point was used to suggest a recorded message. A kinetic mechanical relationship was implied with a minimalistic approach demonstrating our social machine age. Color, although important, is considered as a secondary element to enhance the sculptures fulfillment.
The sculpture is scaled for a larger architectural aesthetic envision.
MOON DANCE - A DOCUMENTARY OF A HISTORIC SCULPTURE
During my summer employment At Grumman Aircraft in 1965, I had the honor to work briefly on the
L.E.M. (Lunar Excursion Module) modular landing leg, heat treatment of parts dipped into liquid nitrogen, and the fuel oxidizing tank. It was there that Neil Armstrong walked within ten feet of me and my mentor. The excitement ran thru all of us as a Saturn rocket at lift off. Little did I know that this summer employment would impact me in later years.
After my military service during the Vietnam War, I worked in engineering and eventually went to
F.S.U. I found myself heavily influenced by David Smith and his use of geometric forms, and later by John Henry. Further along, paralleling my employment in architecture and design, I kept vigilant in developing my direction, thoughts, and influences in sculpture. It was during my exhibition at the Karen lynn gallery (2012) in Boca Raton that I was firmly asked to create larger sculpture. That is when I asked myself what one object influenced me most in life, and that was simply the moon landing of the L.E.M. in 1969. Tapping into my memory and original photographs, the birth of Moon Dance began. After a model was made along with computerized drawings, the forging started. Measuring, cutting, drilling, sanding, grinding, welding, it was all there and I did not have a proper shop. Only a strong faith, belief, desire and inspiration. A well documented time log was followed and resulted in a total of 411 hours to completion. However, during my approximate halfway point, the gallery closed without warning. I decided to complete the sculpture and now found myself with a 400 pound aluminum artwork. There was no way that I could move it to various galleries due to financial abilities. As a result, similar to the ascending stage left on the moon, so is my Moon Dance sculpture. Grounded in my garage since 2012. However, Moon Dance can be relocated and placed for all to be reflective of our history.
I can only hope that Moon Dance will inspire the viewers imagination thru the visual characteristics and emphasize the spirit of a harmonious endeavor to complete a whole unity of progress. Artistically, Moon Dance’s design was created to enhance the elements of art. The repeating lines suggest a binding of an architectural structure encompassing a modern complex geometry. The texture was sanded to reflect light and suggest an illusion of distance, depth, and a weightless halographic appearance. The configuration of quads imply energy solar panels paralleling modern residential and space applications. Movement was a visual consideration by repetitious supporting legs reinforcing a strong positive and negative spacial relationship grounded by anchored taps.
I wish all viewers to understand that art can create an evolution to yourself thru visionary, motivation, and passion.
Sincerely,
Dennis A. Dezmain
Pink Grass was created as a statement concerning woman’s breast cancer.
After seeing recent medical announcements reporting the results of this tragedy, I was inspired to create a sculpture that would enhance the women’s battle against this dreadful disease. Knowing that art can and has been historically a very powerful instrument on all fronts of our society, I decided to conceive a statement.
My first thought was the obvious pink visual ribbon associated with the breast cancer movement. The second conception was more difficult, as I was looking for a universal image that all people would relate to, but still being artistic.
After many hours of designing and contemplating a proper form, I was suddenly enlightened with a thought concerning grass. It was universal and not a rare commodity along with being identifiable.
The process continued with several tested materials, until I decided to experiment with my aluminum welding rods. I considered hammering the ends to a flattened surface which would mimic grass blades. This turned out to be successful, however, now I needed to support the grass blades and present the composition in a professional way.
This was solved by using ¾ inch plywood with a series of drilled holes using epoxy to hold the aluminum welding rods in place. The surface of the plywood was painted with aluminum paint as the sides were boxed in with aluminum flat bar.
The consideration to paint the grass blades was derived from the universal pink ribbon color. Again, I was faced with the choice of how much to paint, especially knowing that grass was not pink. This decision did have implications on my thought process.
More testing came into play and the outcome was a rewarding effect. The upper grass blades were dusted in a pink automotive spray applied very cautiously. As a result, I was satisfied with the overall sculpture giving clarity to the mission.
My desire was to create a work of contemporary art, and donate the finished work with the financial proceeds going directly to the front line. Thru research and support the dignity of all women can be assured, for they are the mothers of Earth.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
Sincerely,
Dennis A. Dezmain
“OARS UP”
“THE REFUGEES”
“LONGHORN”
“MOON DANCE”
“PINK GRASS”
