Joshua Sarantitis has been creating monumental professional work in public spaces for over 20 years. His 45 commissioned works include glass installations and mosaic murals located regionally and abroad including San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Tucson. His ability to collaborate successfully with design professionals, arts administrators and community is rooted in a desire to find common language between our everyday lives and the arts. Joshua embraces using technology as a tool to aid in mastering media including slumped and fused glass, mosaic, plasma-cut steel, concrete, glass frit, ceramic toner on glass, ceramic tile and paint and fiber. He combines the desire for learning with the skilled execution of an accomplished technician.

Most recently Joshua completed “Harvard Ripples,” a 400-piece glass art ceiling installation for Harvard Business School designed to promote a sense of community and connect the transient student population with the residential community surrounding it. The project was completed in time for the grand opening of the new Hi Innovation Lab in November 2011.

Works also include a large-scale project, entitled “Legacy,” for the city of Philadelphia that combines 4,000 square feet of glass tile into a photorealistic mosaic. Public-school students from throughout the city placed the one million glass pieces, using Tilepile, a computer program developed by the artist. The program was created specifically to translate the design pixel by pixel into the mural using the available glass color palette efficiently and under budget.

Joshua also completed a gateway bridge overpass in Tucson with a design-team that included city staff, Arizona Department of Transportation and HDR Engineering. Plasma-cut steel elements and illuminated columns are used to illustrate the life and influence of Cesar Chavez. The steel fabrication of the art elements was completed in-house in order to maximize the available budget and allow for quality control.

The question that drives Joshua’s practice is how to create artwork that is inclusive of the public. Many of his projects will incorporate community components that allow for hands-on learning, demystifying the process and the product for the public. He is not afraid to take risks in finding design solutions, including the creation of technical methodologies, and is comfortable working on all aspects of a commission, including site-specific engineering, fabrication and installation. Mr. Sarantitis’ diverse life experience, combined with architectural sensitivity and use of new media and technology, allows for public works of art that speak to a wider audience.