Thomas Joynes (1982) is an internationally recognized British contemporary sculptor celebrated for his abstract, form-based 3D designs. Born in Essex, he discovered his passion for 3D creation during his early art studies before graduating from the Norwich School of Art and Design in 2005.
Early in his career, he gained vital mentorship working as a freelance assistant to the acclaimed kinetic sculptor Angela Conner, inheriting structural philosophies that trace directly back to British Modernism. Joynes operated a professional studio in Norwich for over a decade before relocating his entire workshop to Hampshire in 2023.
Today, Joynes works primarily on a commission basis, collaborating with global architects and designers to create site-specific installations. His monumental sculptures are featured in prominent public and private collections worldwide, including the Crown Estate in London, Austin Road Station in Hong Kong, and the Crown Sydney Hotel in Australia.
Joynes blends mathematical equations, organic physics, and rigorous metal craftsmanship to translate abstract geometry into flowing physical forms.
Conceptualization and Geometry: Every new piece begins with hand-drawn sketches exploring proportion, ancient symbols, and architectural motifs. Joynes maps out his curves by adapting rigid mathematical principles like the Fibonacci sequence and fractals, aiming to mirror the underlying geometric rules found across nature.
Physical Prototyping: To develop his sketches into three dimensions, he builds tangible mockups using traditional modeling and paper manipulation. For certain intricate rotating forms, he plots curved lines on sheets of paper, then carefully cuts, pleats, and folds the material to force the structure into a fluid, spiraling loop.
Sculpting and Casting: Once he establishes a core paper or string structural frame, he coats the prototype in countless, meticulously smoothed layers of wax to build up a uniform thickness. This refined wax model is then used to create a negative ceramic shell, which is heated to melt away the wax, leaving an empty cavity for traditional molten bronze or copper casting.
Finishing and Scaling: Joynes acts as a hands-on maker, directly executing labor-intensive studio techniques including welding, metal fabrication, gold-gilding, and chemical patination. When working on large-scale commissions with architects, he utilizes 3D scanning and digital editing software to scale up his tabletop designs, which are then CNC-cut out of heavy raw materials or fabricated from large stainless steel panels.If you would like to know more, I can detail the exact chemical patinas he applies to alter the metal colors or discuss how his 3D scanning process handles custom architectural scales.
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Thomas Joynes or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
 |
Thomas Joynes |
 |
| Alpha, 2007 |
 |
| Vortex II, 2007 |
 |
| Vortex, 2007 |
 |
| Eclipse, 2009 |
 |
| Talisman, 2009 |
 |
Sculptural Gates, 2011
Made for private residence in Hampshire |
 |
| Autumn, 2013 |
 |
| Division, 2014 |
 |
| Echoes, 2014 |
 |
| Henosis, 2014 |
 |
| Coalesce, 2015 |
 |
| Crescent, 2015 |
 |
| Ether, 2016 |
 |
| Orchid, 2016 |
 |
| Ascension, 2017 |
 |
| Astral, 2017 |
 |
| Aurora Borealis, 2017 |
 |
| Aurora, 2017 |
 |
| Halo, 2017 |
 |
| Infinity, 2017 |
 |
| Pleated Form, 2017 |
 |
| Euclid, 2018 |
 |
| Continuum, 2019 |
 |
| Heliosphere, 2019 |
 |
| Aurora, 2020 |
 |
| Apollo, 2021 |
 |
| Crescent, 2021 |
 |
| Cygnus, 2021 |
 |
| Henosis II, 2021 |
 |
| One Blackfriars: London Curvilinear Name |
,%202016.jpg)
