After successfully completing a series of monumental public sculptures (The 92′ Wind Harp in South San Francisco; The Bataan War Memorial on the Island of Corregidor, Flame of Freedom; the 80′ sculpture Cosmos, the fountain Peirine in New York, Breakthrough, etc.), Mr. Demetrios turned his attention to smaller works for private collectors.
In the last few decades, he has designed, fabricated and installed a large number of commissioned works for the gardens of private collectors, including a great many bronze fountains. In addition, he has had several gallery and museum shows featuring his figurative bronze sculptures, like “Trickster”, his abstract bronze sculptures, like “The Cube”, and his painted or patinaed steel sculptures, like “Tomorrow’s Dreams”, the vast majority of which are now owned by private collectors across the United States.
In 2002, Mr. Demetrios won the “Santa Barbara Beautiful Award” for the most beautiful work of public art; the award recognized Mr. Demetrios for the design and fabrication of the 18′ bronze fountain, “Mentors”, which serves as the focal point of the Santa Barbara City College, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The fountain was donated to the campus by Eli Luria and Michael Towbes, two revered Santa Barbara philanthropists; both of whom have Demetrios’ sculptures in their own private collections.
Demetrios’ sculptures speak to us; they invite us to smile, to resonate with his narrative message, to find meaning on our own, and to cherish the ability of art to be a language of invitation. Mr. Demetrios, who goes by the name Aris, shows his work in several galleries, and in his studio in Montecito, California, where he resides with his wife, Ilene.