We exhibit international, representational artists with a concentration on narrative realism, photorealistic portraiture, surrealism and figurative art. Exhibiting drawing, painting and sculpture, our emerging artists and American Master Painters from our RJD Private Collection, present a contemporary vision of our world.
Richard was educated at The University of California at Irvine, wherein he achieved a B.S. in Biology, teaching credentials, and ultimately entered their Graduate program in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
An exciting business opportunity arrived in 1975, and he found himself in the textile industry, where he would spend the next 30 years.
In 1979, Richard moved to NYC, opened and operated, what became a global textile and manufacturing business. He travelled extensively throughout the world, and acquired a vast collection of art and priceless experiences on his journeys. His firm was extremely active with a myriad of charities; including The Fashion Institute, AIDS LA and NYC, Fountain House/NYC, Joel Finkelstein Cancer research, UJA; and funded research in breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s.
In 2002, he left business, and moved to Sag Harbor, NY, and his commitment to charitable endeavors persisted.
In 2004 he joined the Retreat and subsequently opened the Gallery end 2009 to raise awareness and develop donors for The Retreat, the retreatinc.org
For 14 years, he was a member of the board of The Retreat, an organization dedicated to ending family violence, and caring for the children and women they serve.
He was also an honorary board member of the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, and has been involved and supportive of a myriad of non-profits, including Fountain House, NYC,
The Animal Rescue Fund, East End Theater and Radio, breast cancer research, and local art and artists via The Parrish Art Museum and Guild Hall membership.
The journey continues, and the support and awareness of our collectors has allowed RJD gallery to endow a portion of our proceeds to non-profit causes, including, but not limited to, The Retreat, The Southampton Animal Shelter, amFAR and Fountain House NYC.
Joi Jackson Perle has always been surrounded by art and it was an artist that led her family to make the move from New York City to eastern Long Island when she was still an infant. A friend of her father introduced him to Willem de Kooning who was looking for an assistant in East Hampton. Henry “Jack” Jackson went on to build de Kooning’s studio and Joi recalls many happy days visiting her father on the job site and running free with her siblings through the large, light filled space. “Whenever my mother took us to visit our dad at work we were welcomed and nurtured by the owner, from de Kooning, to Rosenquist to producers like Saint Subber. It was a magical time and place in which to grow up.“
“A great source of pride in my family is that my maternal grandmother, Amabel Kennedy Olff, posed for Norman Rockwell and subsequently became the matriarchal figure in his masterpiece ‘The Golden Rule’ holding her grandson (my cousin) Albert. My grandparents lived just across the border from Rockwell in Cambridge, New York and said he was a very special man, and artist.”
Joi’s mother, Maxine Jackson, made sure that their house was filled with examples of both Black and folk art. “Even as a small child I never tired of looking at ‘The Banjo Lesson’ by Henry Ossawa Tanner. We had a very inexpensive reproduction, but it was a still a powerful piece. I will always be grateful to my mother for ensuring that at home we saw people that looked like us in art, music and literature.”
At RJD Gallery, Joi is often behind the scenes, busy with daily operations as well as marketing and social media. “I am always rooting for the artists, the dreamers and the creators whether or not they are in the RJD family, and I am keeping an eye out for new artists with a focus on underrepresented artists of color.”
Weston manages and oversees all of the day-to-day operation of the two gallery spaces, and it’s his voice you’ll likely hear upon calling the gallery.
He’s been a vital part of the Gallery’s relocation to Michigan and the continued success of RJD Gallery through the challenging obstacles of a global pandemic.
His previous position managing a custom frame shop provided him a hands on knowledge of custom framing.Weston worked with artwork of all kinds from cherished grade school memories to original paintings by Yoko Ono and John Lennon on their way to auction. As well as honing skills handling, hanging, and packing art, he thrived helping his clientele achieve their design goals. Weston continues to put his design experience to use assisting with curation and welcoming and serving the clientele at the galleries.
I’m very pleased with RJD Gallery. They care deeply about their artists and diligently work collaboratively to place artwork in notable collections and with collectors who love and appreciate quality fine art.
About a year and a half ago, at the lowest moment in my life, Richard Demato emailed me, and at that point he purchased 5 of my paintings and sold all but one; that he kept.
So, I went out to meet him. I had lived in East Hampton, many years ago and knew the terrain. But Richard was something else.
In my experience, the Art World, probably in step with the financial world, sees empathy or compassion as acts of weakness. Richard, in a nanosecond, offered me both
He took me for lunch to The American Hotel in Sag Harbor. This has been my favorite restaurant for 20 years. I dress up when I go there and make a reservation.
He took me there wearing his flip flops and and an old Band shirt and was treated as a member of a club.
I shall never forget following behind him as he sailed through the waiters, smiling, laughing, calling to them by name.
We were then seated on the porch and he leaned across the table to make sure I had received extra shrimp in my salad.
His ease, his graciousness, his ease within his own skin almost brought me to tears.
Richard and I do not always agree aesthetically. But we have between us a bond of trust and caring I have never had with another art dealer. Richard loves art. Richard loves his life.
And in his presence, sometimes, I manage to love my own.
RJD Gallery has given me the opportunity to rise to the occasion and create the best work of my career thus far. RJD represents a talented and fiercely original roster of artists, which has motivated me to take my work to the next level. His advertising efforts have brought new collectorship and national attention to my work.
Exhibiting my work at RJD Gallery has provided an opportunity to explore new ideas in paint. It’s vital that I continue to grow and delve even deeper into narratives that lie dormant in my psyche in hopes that viewers will be consciously or unconsciously swayed into their own hidden dreams and desires. Also, I am inspired my the other artists in the gallery. R J Demato supports a diverse group of talented painters that have fertile imaginations which can only help to keep mine active.
I am so happy to have been invited to show at RJD Gallery as a member of the gallery stable. They have been enormous in my burst in sales (beginning our relationship with an American Art Collector COVER), and I have enjoyed new exposure to areas where I have not exhibited in years! The clients are serious, and interesting, and ready to come with us ‘magical realists’ to wherever we go, no matter the terrain. This is so important in painting, and creating– to have clients that allow us to worry not about how a sale will be made, but how a body of work will be most honest, and convey best the message the artist intends. I love the energy in this gallery!!
From the moment RJD Gallery and I began working together my career literally took off, and continues to blossom. They are aligned with my own values, are selectively and responsibly charitable, seek out and build relationships with loyal collectors, and through persistent efforts have negotiated and enabled multiple museum placements and purchases of my artwork. RJD Gallery lives and exceeds its mission, is devoutly committed to developing the success of their artists, and plays a pivotal role in bringing attention to their work on a national and international basis. This team is in a class all its own, and I am grateful to have a nurturing partner to share my ongoing journey with.
Since I began with the RJD Gallery I have been very happy with their consistency and professionalism. The team takes great pride in the art that they show and one can rest assured that you will be exposed to a wide band of exhibitions, writers, critics, and collectors.
They have been able to grow with the development of my work, and our relationship has only strengthened as my work has changed and grown. As an artist goes through their evolution a gallery must be willing to come along on that journey. RJD Gallery have done that with great efficiency and to our mutual success.
The only art dealer worth his “salt”. He has a “perfect-eye”, great taste and “market-fair” prices!…..
This is a progressive gallery with a very keen eye for the up and coming. They have a very strong stable of artists, and it is also an honest and straight talking gallery that is a joy to deal with. Herein lies an ideal relationship, of equal respect, between collector and gallery
The artists represented by RJD are at the vanguard of living contemporary and magic realists. There is no better source for this work and they are excellent advisers to any collector seeking to acquire the work of these painters. We have used RJD extensively to provide a constant and exciting stream of cutting edge work and without them our collection would be the poorer for it.If an artist is represented by RJD, they are likely to have an exciting and successful future ahead. I watch RJD’s artists’ list carefully. It augurs the future.
RJD Gallery integrates strong patronage, philanthropy, community, and a strong dose of magic. Richard Demato is a true patron, tirelessly supporting, encouraging, and promoting the gallery’s representation of talented artists. A glimpse at Mr. Demato’s personal collection had me reduced to tears under the power of a Phillip Thomas painting, while an Andrea Kowch filled me with wonder. I’ve collected other of their wonderful artists that have caught the attention of prestigious periodicals such as the NY Times and American Art Collector. RJD Gallery openings serve two-fold as community events: they are often to benefit The Retreat (shelter for abused women), the Southampton Animal Shelter, or Fountain House; for Demato, philanthropy is not an option, and its driver, fine art, is not just a business, but a way of living.
Each piece we have acquired through the RJD gallery has been accompanied by an introduction to the artist, if not in person, than over the phone. It’s evident that the artist and collector meeting, admittedly a rare but fortuitous opportunity, is valued by Richard in terms of a mutually satisfactory sale. And it does in fact leave the collector with a feeling of having made the right choice because you go away with not only a beautiful piece of work, but a sense of knowing the artist and a deeper understanding of the painting. This way it becomes a far more intimate and meaningful addition to one’s home. Personally my husband and I have come to know Richard and his team, and thereby appreciate that his stable of artists are a family rather than a pay-cheque. His consideration and respect for their artistic process and them as people is enviable not to mention his tireless efforts to best market and represent their work. He is constantly on the look out for new talent, and famous for traveling to meet artists after seeing even the merest hint of their work featured in often obscure newspaper or magazine articles. Richard is a heaven send to any talented young artist who is lucky enough to catch his discerning eye, and to the collector a valued and trusted purveyor of contemporary works of art with a timeless value.
RJD may not be the biggest art gallery, but it certainly stands out in its quality. Richard recognizes talent, has a great eye for high quality art and most of the artists he represents are noticed by museums. Apart from being a consummate businessman, Richard has a softer side, once he identifies the talent he supports his artists and makes sure that each becomes a success story. Richard as our art adviser has been an absolute pleasure to work with.
