I have a strong attraction for industrial and architectural connections. What happens when the two massive pillars of an airport hall connect on the ceiling, or how those enormous rivets hold the metal parts on the concrete ground of a bridge. This is something that captivates me. I find a true beauty in the essence of this monumental function, on how things connect.
I see my pieces not as mere jewelry, but as sculptures meant to be worn, encounters between the body and an architectural matter. I am drawn to industrial materials for their toughness and the tension they hold between rigidity and possibility. My work seeks to reveal their unexpected beauty, urging them to bend and dance with the organic movements of the body.
Although working within the constraints of using ready-made objects like metal pipes, I conjure an unlimited possibility of shapes by combining and soldering the units together. I love mixing the use of traditional jewelry technics and materials and semi-industrial ones, like the fine soldering of the copper elements associated with the subtle mat black powder coating. It creates an hybrid object, almost a graphic sign, where the mass-produced components turn into a very elegant and ornamental jewelry.
Every object I create is born from a hands-on exploration of materials. Each piece is the result of an ongoing dialogue with matter. Simultaneously soft and unyielding, angular and fluid, bold yet understated, it's a balance of strength and vulnerability, armor and openness.
Through my work, I hope to inspire those who wear it to feel both protected and empowered, to embrace their uniqueness. In the interplay of tension and release, material and form, my pieces invite a sense of emancipation: a reminder that even within constraints, freedom can be found.
Artist Bio:
Joanne Grimonprez is a French artist based in Austin, Texas. Known for her wearable sculptures, she works primarily with industrial materials, fusing graphic form with architectural construction. Her work blurs the boundaries between art, design, and jewelry, drawing inspiration from urban landscapes and mechanical structures to explore the tension between constraint and freedom. Trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, Grimonprez has exhibited internationally, and her work is held in the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. By exploring the dialogue between matter and the body, her creations invite the wearer to inhabit bold, unforgettable forms.
