ANU brings acclaimed architect and artist James Carpenter to Canberra

Head of ANU School of Art and Design Denise Ferris with James Carpenter

ANU School of Art and Design brought acclaimed architect and artist James Carpenter to Canberra, to present an exclusive public talk as part of the DesignCanberra Festival.

James, who leads the firm James Carpenter Design Associates in New York, is known for innovative work on projects including the Gateway Arch Museum in St Louis, the sky reflector in Fulton Centre New York, and a remarkable building skin that captures and projects light on Seven World Trade Centre.

James career has followed a varied trajectory, influenced by his early days at the Rhode Island School of Design where he became fascinated by glass.

“I got involved in glass through an underlying interest in light.”

James’ involvement in glass developed in the 60s, when as a medium to study and pursue it was just in its infancy. Through a fascination with light, he realised glass was a creative medium with which to play with and channel light. Now decades later and with an impressive body of work around the world, James continues to use glass along with other materials in a novel way to bring light into public spaces.

James’ presentation “Light in the Public Realm”, delivered at the National Gallery of Australia, focused on this journey through architecture, art, and engineering, and how his work aims to bring natural light into spaces creatively.

“I look at my whole career as taking advantage of opportunities. When the odd opportunity comes up, what can you do with that with your thinking or aesthetic understanding?”

ANU is a longstanding platinum sponsor of the DesignCanberra festival, which each year celebrates a city of design, and showcases the immense design talent including students and alumni of the ANU.

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