Demian Divine (b. Turin, Italy) lives and works in Turin.



Divine’s approach to the tradition is wild and primitive but through photography the work is liberated from established ways of being.
Blurring the lines between abstraction and figuration, the artist creates mid to large-scale photographs delving deeply into the collective consciousness of humanity. The intersection between the physical and the digital is the center of his creative aim.

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He is looking for a somewhat state of confusion in which it is not easy to understand where the digital begins and the physical ends, and vice versa. 


The artist immerses himself in this hybrid dimension because he thinks it perfectly reflects the state of our society, a place where we are merged with our digital identities, sometimes letting the dichotomy of this dimensional clash overwhelm us; this research is a deep examination of the psychic effects that the encounter between tradition and technology creates.

Divine grew up with a deep interest in literature, philosophy and gnosticism, which heavily influenced his paintings and photography, so evocative titles are used in a poetic manner to reflect deeper meanings and cultural references. The artist is inspired equally by the Indian doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, the mysticism of Western Esotericism, as well as the digital culture and industrial advances of our time, with a particular focus on classical, yet ever-present, aesthetic needs of color and form.

The human figure has long preoccupied artists of all times; its story dominates the history of Art. In its imagination and in its image-making we find clues to how artists have grappled and engaged with the political and socio-cultural moods and attitudes of their times. We are in a time of renewed and committed interest in figurative painting, and Divine uses the figure - constrained and liberated from traditional support - as a many-sided prism in order to examine and interrogate the contemporary crucibles of gender, fiction and magic.

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Education:
European Bachelor Of Science in Design (Advertising & Graphic Design), IAAD, Turin, Italy


Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Art Direction & Copywriting), IED, Turin, Italy

Academic Master of Fine Arts (Photography and Image-making), PCA, College of Art, Paris, France
 

Exhibitions:

[2023]    Paintings 3, O.S.D 3, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

[2022]    Huiles & Guaches, Private art gathering and opening in Saint-Germain-des-Près' Loft, Paris, France (Pr. Solo Exhibition)
[2022]    Paintings 2, O.S.D 2, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)
[2021]    Acryliques et Encres, Private art gathering and opening in Marais' Loft, Paris, France (Pr. Solo Exhibition)

[2020]    Paintings 1, O.S.D 1, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

[2019]    Cane-Lupo, Louis Cane Atelier, Rue Saint Maur 184, Paris, France (Dual Solo Exhibition)

[2019]    Home Swee Home, Paludetto Project Room, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

[2018]    Aquarelles et Pastels, Private art gathering and opening in Montparnasse's Loft, Paris, France (Pr. Solo Exhibition)
[2017]    Alive, Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany (Art Fair)

[2017]    Intuition, Privateview Gallery, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

[2017]    Memories, Code, Copenaghen, Denmarck (Art Fair)

[2017]    Repeated gestures, Wopart, Lugano, Switzerland (Art Fair)
[2017]    Shine on you, The Others, Turin, Italy (Art Fair)

[2017]    Ecstasy, Galerie Matignon, Paris / France (Solo Exhibition)

[2016]    Inner Circus, curated by M.Vescovo, Project Room at Jerome Zodo Contemporary, Milan (Solo Exhibition)

[2016]    Visions, Code, Copenaghen, Denmarck (Art Fair)

[2016]    Dare Luce alla Luce, curated by F. Paludetto, Emotional Lighting Project, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

[2016]    Brittleness, Wopart, Lugano, Switzerland (Art Fair)

[2016]    The Blood of The Skin, Tom Design, Turin, Italy (Group Exhibition)
[2016]    Recent Paintings, curated by I. Fassio, The Others, Turin, Italy (Art Fair)

[2016]    Les Revenants, Brafa Art Fair, Bruxelles, Belgium (Art Fair)
[2016]    Dessins, Here Collective, Turin, Italy (Group Exhibition)

[2015]    Out Of the Blu, curated by M.Vescovo, Galerie 95, Bienne, Switzerland (Solo Exhibition)
[2015]    Being, The Others, Turin, Italy (Art Fair)
[2015]    I due volti del cervello, Christie’s & Pinksie The Whale, Spazio Ersel, Turin, Italy (Group Exhibition & Auction)
[2015]    Rainbow Dance, curated by A.Rodi, Bu.g Art Gallery, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)
[2015]    Game Over, Off Course Tour & Taxis, Bruxelles / Belgium (Art Fair)
[2015]    El Viaje del Alma / Soul in Transition, Kunst Messe, Frankfurt, Germany (Art Fair)

[2015]    Sweet Things, St Art, Strasbourg, France (Art Fair)
[2015]    Enchantement, Art Elyseès, Paris, France (Art Fair)

[2015]    Dreams, Galerie Matignon, Paris, France (Group Exhibition)

[2014]    Dreaming Nature, Art International Zurich, Switzerland (Art Fair)

[2014]    First Play, The Others, Turin, Italy (Art Fair)

[2014]    Tempi B.u.i.,curated by A.Rodi, Bu.g Art Gallery, Turin, Italy (Group Exhibition)

[2014]    La Vie Parisienne, Galerie Talmart, Paris, France (Solo Exhibition)
[2014]    Sofia Dea Madre, curated by L.Beatrice, Unique Contemporary, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

[2014]    Il Volo Della Fenice, curated by M.Vescovo, Banca Investis, Lugano, Switzerland (Solo Exhibition)
[2014]    Demian, Aquarelles et Encres Parisiens, Art Elyseès, Paris, France (Art Fair)

[2014]    Sophia et ses sœurs, Brafa Art Fair, Bruxelles, Belgium (Art Fair)
[2013]    Metamorphosis : Aaron/Demian, Banca Intermobiliare BIM, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)
[2013]    Les Jeunesse Incroyable, Galerie Matignon, Paris, France (Group Exhibition)
[2013]    Les Yeux Flamboyant, Galerie Teodora, Paris, France (Solo Exhibition)
[2013]    The Prestige, Galerie Teodora, Paris, France (Group Exhibition)

[2013]    Aaron’s Life, O.S.D 1, Paris Gouncort, France (Solo Exhibition)

[2013]    Homeless, Marena Rooms Gallery, Turin / Italy (Group Exhibition)
[2013]    Aaron Funeral, O.S.D zero, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)
[2013]    3QQQ G.Box, Arte Giovane/ Associazione Barriera, Turin, Italy (Solo Exhibition)

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​Selected Collections:

Castello di Rivara, Rivara, Italy, EU

Banca Investis, Milan/Rome, Italy, EU

Ersel, Turin, Italy, EU

Anselmo Basso Collection, Turin, Italy, EU

Crédit Suisse, Zurich, Switzerland, EU

Banca Intermobiliare Investimenti e Gestioni, Lugano, Switzerland, EU

Bianconi Collection, Genève, Switzerland, EU

Artistics Collection, Paris, FR

Smith Collection, Melbourne, AU

By Art Matters, Hangzhou, China, AS

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Demian Divine features in various national and international private collections in in Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia.

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Scholarship & Awards:

Academic Prize, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), Turin, Italy – Art Direction & Visual Arts

​Residency Program Award, Paris College of Art (PCA) Paris, France – Visual Arts & Photography

Nominated, Arte Laguna Prize, International Prize of Contemporary Art, Venice, Italy – Painting Section

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Residencies:

Photography Research Residency, AIR, International Arts Research Residency, Paris, France – Visual Arts & Photography

Résidences La Malterie, Centre Ressource Ville de Lille, France – Visual Arts

Artist-in-Residence, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France – Visual Arts

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