Studio James Carpenter / JCDA was established in 1979 as a cross-disciplinary art studio, merging fine art, engineering, architecture and environment to re-establish and enhance connections to our natural surroundings.

As an individual artist, James Carpenter’s practice grew out of and was part of the Environmental Art movement of the 1970’s, exhibiting in New York with John Gibson Gallery and internationally at galleries and museums in Europe, showing multi-film installations which engaged the viewer/participant with mediated observations of light phenomena in nature.

These early films and their environmental focus continue to inform the studios work exploring a personalized vision defining an ‘ecology of light’ grounded in a deep understanding of light as experienced in the natural world. Carpenter founded Studio James Carpenter/JCDA in1979 as public art opportunities grew both in scale and international in context. As an artist led studio with a unique aesthetic grounding in light and glass, combined with broad technical capabilities, the studio is comprised of artists and architects and we have long-term collaborations with structural engineers, fabricators and other specialists that have been in place for over 40 years.

Every project undertaken is unique to its site and context, embracing and amplifying a site’s light characteristics and often, a community’s traditions of use, by connecting people to each other, to their history and to their surrounding ecology. The work straddles multiple fields with the emphasis on light as the sculptural medium, intimately interwoven with architecture, engineering and landscape. Often, my work becomes what might be called the ‘identity’ of a building or project site, defining and being the memorable moment, the ‘Instagram’ image that finds its way into much broader audiences. Of note, the uniqueness of the work is that it is in the forefront of forging the implementation of creative ideas and innovative technologies.

Carpenter continues to exhibit works at museums and undertakes significant public commissions in addition to coupling his aesthetic interests in collaborations with other artists, architects and engineers around the world.