Demiak
Demiak (pseudonym of Maarten Demmink) is a Dutch painter, photographer and sculptor. Born in 1967 in Goudriaan, he lives and works in The Hague. Biography. He grew up in Laag-Soeren where he was initiated to painting by his mother and grandfather, both artists and teachers. He first studied at the Utrecht School of the Arts (1986-1988). Disappointed by the predominance of abstraction in the courses, he transferred to the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, more focused on pictorial techniques. He was graduated in 1992 under the pseudonym Demiak. Along with a group of friends met at  the Royal Academy, including Vittorio Roerade, Niels Janssen, Peter Zwaan and Tjebbe Beekman, he settled in the area of Laakkwartier being demolished. Since that date, Demiak has been working temporarily in different damaged buildings: former offices, old schools or houses. The difficulty to find a permanent studio finds an echo in his sculptures and photographs of ruined houses. He began to paint surrealist landscapes before organizing his works in series and experimenting with new mediums in the 2000s, such as staged photographs, mixed media and mural wood sculptures. Fascinated by Piero della Francesca and by Leonardo da Vinci’s landscapes , Demiak explores the relationship between nature and industry in fantasy pictures or post-apocalyptic landscapes. He was awarded the Van Ommeren de Voogt prize in 2004, the Jacob Hartog prize in 2010, the silver medal with Bas Koopmans and Festina Lente Collective for the cover art of The Kyteman orchestra album in 2012 and the Groene prize at the zomerexpo in 2013 by the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag.