Joshua Demonte: create architectural jewelry with 3D printing

Jan.15, 2013

To Philadelphia-based jewelry designer Joshua Demonte, architecture has always surrounded the body. His jewelry objects mimc ancient architectural elements activating the viers' perception of the wearer.

My work has replaced the traditional embellishments of jewelry objects with the details of traditional architectural form. The objects have become jewelry that have defined architectural space around the body, altering our perception of the figure.

For the exhibition "40 under 40: Craft Futures" at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum from July 20, 2012 through to February 3, 2013, the museum selected forty artists born since 1972, the year the museum's contemporary craft and decorative arts program was established at its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery.

The exhibition investigates evolving notions of craft within traditional media such as ceramics and metalwork, as well as in fields as varied as sculpture, industrial design, installation art, fashion design, sustainable manufacturing, and mathematics. The range of disciplines represented illustrates new avenues for the handmade in contemporary culture.

All of the artworks selected for display in the exhibition were created since Sept. 11, 2001. This new work reflects the changed world that exists today, which poses new challenges and considerations for artists. These 40 artists are united by philosophies for living differently in modern society with an emphasis on sustainability, a return to valuing the hand-made and what it means to live in a state of persistent conflict and unease.

The museum asked the 40 artists featured to share personal videos of themselves, and here is what Joshua DeMonte submitted:

Demonte uses Zcorp 3D printer, Objet and also Makerbot 3D printer to make different kind of objects. His work includes necklaces modeled after aqueducts or bracelets based on classical cathedrals. His design is inspired from architecture - with 3D printing he is able to translate a beauty of building nearly literally with a great amount of details.

He calls himself a 21 century maker, a maker making products with digital fabrication. With roots in jewelry design, Joshua DeMonte found a whole new world of artistic creation with 3D printing.