Demitra Thomloudis (USA)
DEMITRA THOMLOUDIS
Designer biography:
Demitra Thomloudis is a studio jeweler, associate professor, and the chair of the jewelry and metalwork area at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Her investigation of the human body and its relationship to jewelry have manifested in works of art that challenge our assumptions about jewelry and its meaning, power and value. Her research, which explores jewelry’s capacity to express the interrelationship of person and place, has earned her an international reputation in the field, as well as numerous accolades and invitations to participate in exhibitions and residencies. These include: The Museum of Arts and Design in New York; The Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece; The Museum for Modern Art in Arnhem, Netherlands; The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, Australia and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City, Mexico. Her work can be found in numerous private collections and permanently at the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) New York, Museum Espace Solidor in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum in Athens Greece and the Georgia Museum of Art. Her work is represented by Charon Kransen Arts (USA) and the Penland Gallery located at the Penland School of Crafts, NC.
Collection concept:
I am fascinated with architectural sites in progress and for many years I have documented in and around them. My work takes these monumental experiences I have witnessed and introduces them to the body. The simultaneous chaos and order of architectural sites in flux draws me in, insisting that I investigate further. On site I uncover evidence of the body found in architectural markings; an indiscriminate spray-painted line where color and mark give direction and order. Systems, colors, forms and marks are observed and excavated from the built environment and reorganized in a new system to now inhabit the space of the body as ornament. Roles have been reversed. Now, instead of our bodies moving in and around the space, the language of these spaces occupies the intimate landscape of the body. My work intends to challenge the construct of jewelry as a means to examine value, material sign systems and extensions of identity through the lens of place. I see jewelry as a means to connect us closer to the world we are surrounded by.
Thomloudis, Brooch 1
Thomloudis, Brooch 2
Thomloudis, Brooch 3