James DeMartis is a sculptor, custom metalsmith and metal craftsman living and working in The Hamptons and New York City. Born in Brooklyn (NYC) and raised in Westchester County, James began working with metals, both steel and iron at C.W. Post College on Long Island and has been sculpting and custom crafting architectural metal with welder, torch and forge for over 30 years. In 2001 he opened his custom architectural metal, blacksmithing and sculpture business James DeMartis Metal Studio.
His commercial work includes custom designs for restaurants, hotels and retail spaces in the Hamptons and NYC, including 11 Madison Park, Nick & Toni’s, The 1770 House, The Peninsula Hotel, The Greenwich Hotel, Oliver Peoples and David Yurman. He has also created works for, collaborated with or restored works by the following additional luminaries in art and design: Lindsey Adelman, Edward Albee, Paul Evans, Eric Fischl, Diego Giacometti, Jacques Grange, Betsey Johnson, Helmut Lang, Cindy Sherman, Martha Stewart, Axel Vervoordt and Robert Wilson.
James’ custom work resides in private collections throughout The Hamptons, Long Island, New York City, The United States, Europe, The Middle East and is part of many outdoor collections including The Long House Reserve in East Hampton and The New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx, NY.
His work has been featured in numerous Hamptons publications, including Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, Interior Design, Elle Dècor, The Anvil’s Ring and newspapers in NYC and Long Island as well as the hardcover book Ironwork Today Vol. II. He was also recently featured on NBC – TV’s FIRST LOOK lifestyle and arts television show.
James enjoys repairing metal antiques and restoring historic artifacts such as the wrought iron anchor for the ill fated Nahum Chapin in Quogue, NY and The Springs War Memorial Cannon in East Hampton, NY and shares his love of teaching and traditional blacksmithing leading demonstrations at historic smithy’s and wheelright shops in The Hamptons.