Jessica DeMuro Graves (b. Ann Arbor, 1982) is a contemporary interdisciplinary artist based out of Chicago & Detroit. She examines the human experience through the use of photography, painting, sculpture, and installation. DeMuro Graves deconstructs materials in an effort to reconstruct and explore deeply personal, meaningful stories. With immersive works that engulf many of the senses at once, she often focuses on profound empathy and understanding inside her creative process and finished works.
A native of Ann Arbor, Jessica earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism - with a focus on Photojournalism and Design - in 2004 from Michigan State University. A passionate learner, she studied abroad in Great Britain while at MSU, then later moved on to Chicago’s Harrington College of Design where, in 2007, she proudly served as the school’s commencement speaker and took home her associate’s degree in Digital Photography.
By 2010, DeMuro Graves headed to Los Angeles to continue her art career and education. There, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Fine Art Photography from the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. She taught classes and was a guest critic, guiding undergraduate & graduate work at the school as well.
Jessica exhibits her work both nationally and internationally. In 2013, she earned the Premio Internazionale Bugatti Seganti International Art Prize in Milan. The following year, DeMuro Graves received the Puffin Foundation Grant for her work, Unspeakable. Her installation, 3,650 Days was featured at CeArt Museum in Baja California, Mexico in 2013, in the Casablanca Biennale in Morocco in 2016, and at Norwest Gallery of Art in Detroit, in 2018. Her works have been collected by the Rossi Foundation in Milan and the Biennale Internationale De Casablanca in Morocco, as well as in private collections in California, Michigan, Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts.
DeMuro Graves returned to her home state, Michigan, in 2016 to continue focusing on her growing career. Most recently, DeMuro Graves has been featured in shows at Norwest Gallery of Art, The Los Angeles Center of Photography, and The Scarab Club. Her most recent immersive work, WOMB, is on view at Womxnhouse Detroit thru the end of October, 2021.
DeMuro Graves is a member of Women’s Caucus for Art, and The Room Project, a space for women and non-binary writers and artists in Detroit. She is also a member of the Los Angeles Center of Photography and the non-profit Society for Photographic Education. She identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and lives with her husband and two cats in Chicago.
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