Elba Damast

Elba Damast (born in 1944, in Delta Amacuro, Venezuela, died in 2005) was a Venezuelan artist.

Biography Damast was born during 1944 in Delta Amacuro, Venezuela. She was the third oldest of her parents' children and was expected to help take care of her younger siblings. Her close family upbringing became a main artistic theme that she expressed throughout her career.

She traveled frequently throughout her life, which helped to develop her artistic palette. From 1964 to 1966, Damast studied in Paris. From 1967 to 1968, she returned to her native Venezuela. From 1969, she traveled throughout South America in order to cultivate and incorporate more Latin American influences into her art. In 1972, she moved to New York City, where she lived for the rest of her life. While living in New York Damast adopted Surrealist artistic styles. She died in 2005.

Education While in Venezuela, Damast attended Ramon Zapata School of Theatre and Literature from 1961 to 1963. She then transitioned into the School of Plastic Arts and, through a school program, was able to travel throughout Europe for several years.

The installation itself is meant to replicate the feeling of childhood within participants. The videos that play within the heart sculptures all play scenarios that depict children playing or individuals reminiscing about childhood memories. Even the chairs and desks are arranged in a format similar to a classroom setting. This work was the last art piece Damast produced, as she died the following year.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions 2004 “Memories of Things to Come,” Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY 1995 “New Works,” Joel Kessler Fine Art, Miami Beach, FL “Elba Damast,” Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C. Coopers & Lybrand, Stockholm, Sweden Saab-Scania AB, Sôdertâlje, Sweden Museo De Arte Contemporaneo, Panama Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C. Coca Cola Corporation, Atlanta Georgia Museum of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Galeria de Arte Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Caracas, Venezuela Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela Museo de Arte Costarrisence, San Jose, Costa Rica Museo Salón Arturo Michelena, Valencia, Venezuela Universidad Abierta, Caracas, Venezuela Cara Corporation, Kyoto Japan Shearson-Leahman Collection, New York, NY Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico The Olsson Art Collection, Tommarp, Sweden