---
title: Demo Joe
description: "Multidisciplinary artist working between painting, digital illustration, and mixed media."
url: "https://www.artsume.com/a/demo-joe"
type: artist
createdAt: 2026-04-14
updatedAt: 2026-05-25
disciplines:
  - Painting
  - Digital Illustration
  - Mixed Media
location: "Toronto, ON, Canada"
---

# Demo Joe

*Multidisciplinary artist working between painting, digital illustration, and mixed media. | Painting, Digital Illustration, Mixed Media | Based in Toronto, ON, Canada*

## Artist Statement

My work begins with the small things people keep — a chipped teacup, a grocery list tucked into a book, a folded letter —and asks what these objects remember on our behalf. I move between oil on canvas, digital illustration, and mixed-media assemblage because no single medium holds the full weight of a quiet inheritance. Recent projects have traced the textures of domestic space across three generations of my family, using paint as a way of listening and digital layering as a kind of translation. I am interested in slowness, in the stories we almost lose, and in making room for the viewer to bring their own grandmother into the room.

## Biography

Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist working across painting, digital illustration, and mixed media. My practice sits at the intersection of memory, place, and belonging — the kind of quiet domestic objects that hold whole histories.

## Curriculum Vitae

### Education

- **2022** - MFA, in Visual Arts, York University, Toronto, (Dean's List)
- **2019** - BFA, in Painting & Digital Media, OCAD University, Toronto, (Graduated with Distinction)

### Solo Exhibitions

- **2025** - "What the Kitchen Remembers," Gallery 1313 Toronto (Curated by Amara Okonkwo) [Catalogue]
- **2022** - "Letters I Didn't Send," Project Gallery Toronto

### Group Exhibitions

- **2024** - "Soft Archives," Xpace Cultural Centre Toronto (Curated by Leila Fatemi)
- **2024** - "New Voices: Ontario," Art Gallery of Mississauga Mississauga [Catalogue]
- **2023** - "Inheritance: Three Generations," Propeller Art Gallery Toronto (Curated by Rachel Kimani)

### Awards & Grants

- **2025** - Emerging Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council, ($10,000)
- **2024** - RBC Emerging Artist Award — Shortlist, Royal Bank of Canada
- **2022** - Graduate Fellowship, York University School of the Arts, ($5,000)

### Residencies

- **2024** - Summer Studio Residency, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff
- **2023** - Artscape Gibraltar Point Residency, Artscape, Toronto Islands

### Bibliography

- **2025** - Maya Chen, "A Quiet Reckoning: Demo Joe's "What the Kitchen Remembers"," *Canadian Art*
- **2024** - Jordan Patel, "Five Toronto Artists to Watch," *NOW Magazine*

## Portfolio

### Letters I Didn't Send (2024)

*Oil and graphite on canvas*

*36 x 48 in (91 x 122 cm)*

A quiet interior scene: a writing desk, a stack of unopened envelopes, and an empty chair pulled slightly back. Soft morning light from an off-canvas window.

---

### Inheritance (Teacup I) (2024)

*Oil on birch panel*

*16 x 20 in (41 x 51 cm)*

A close study of a single chipped porcelain teacup on a pale linen cloth. The cup holds the last inch of cooling tea; a thin steam still rises.

---

### Soft Archive (2023)

*Oil and collage on canvas*

*60 x 72 in (152 x 183 cm)*

A layered painting built over photographs of family laundry lines, bedsheets, and folded clothing. Washed-out pinks, faded blues, and ochres dominate the palette.

---

### The Hallway at 3 a.m. (2023)

*Oil on canvas*

*40 x 30 in (102 x 76 cm)*

A narrow domestic hallway rendered in deep blues and warm ambers. A single doorway at the far end glows softly, half-open.

---

### What the Kitchen Remembers, No. 3 (2025)

*Oil on linen*

*48 x 60 in (122 x 152 cm)*

A large-scale oil painting depicting a warmly lit kitchen table at dusk, half-cleared after a family dinner. Layered brushwork traces the residue of bowls, crumbs, and a single folded napkin.

## Links

- **instagram:** https://instagram.com/artsumeofficial