I am a Sculptor with an architectural background with more than 15 years of experience in public art projects. I studied Architecture in Venice and my Master of Arts in Sculpture in St. Louis, MO. I also earned two certificates in digital fabrication with FabAcademy and MIT ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology). I worked in several architectural and sculptural projects and during the past years I put together a group of collaborators that help me in each project with the engineering part, permitting process, safety, fabrication, installation, maintenance. In the past years I won several public and private commissions such as the “Freedom to Read” sculpture for Capitol View library in Washington DC, “Soundwave Art Park” for Greenville/Fort Dupont park in Washington DC, “Blooming Life” for Carroll Creek Kinetic Art Promenade in Frederick MD, “Solar Flare” for Riverdale Park, MD.
As a visual artist, I like to work with different materials and shapes. All my work has a cohesive conceptual base that starts with traditional techniques and innovative technologies. At the beginning of my creative process, I consider the location, the place's unique history, its cultural identity, its “genius loci” (spirit of the place). Geometry and structural calculations are essential during the first phase of the design process that develops into the final design through collaboration with architects, engineers, the community, and the various stakeholders.
With my public art, I want to enrich each city by creating a sculpture that relates to its artistic and cultural past in a contemporary way. Public sculptures can connect people throughout the city to build a stronger community that interacts with art during everyday activities. Public artworks are needed to beautify a city and contribute to cultural life. They improve the quality and design of public places by establishing a distinctive identity for their evolving communities. My most important goal is to increase people's awareness and enjoyment of my art by working with them since the initial stages of my projects.
In my public sculptures, I work with stable and easy-to-maintain materials such as metals, concrete, glass. Metals such as stainless steel and COR-TEN steel give me a chance to have strong surface contrast and they are easy to maintain and safe. Metal construction products also contribute considerably to the sustainable design movement. Their high recycled content, recyclability, fully developed distribution networks, and energy efficiency allow them to qualify for Green programs. I think that public sculpture doesn’t have to just beautify part of the city. It has to contribute to the cultural life of the city. The single art project, well inserted in a bigger master plan, can help the city to have a new focal point and new points of interest.
About the Artist
Davide Prete was born in Treviso, Italy, and was introduced to art by his father Alessandro and by the sculptor Toni Benetton. He studied jewelry and metalsmithing at the Institute of Art in Venice and, in 2003, obtained a degree in architecture. After working as an architect for several Italian architectural firms, he moved to the United States. In 2010 he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Fontbonne University, Saint Louis, where he studied under Hank Knickmeyer and developed a personal sculptural process, mixing traditional metal casting and new technologies such as 3D printing and laser scanning. He moved to the DMV area in 2011 and started working as a professor of fine art. In 2021, he moved to Takoma Park, MD, where he opened his art studio. Davide works now as an assistant professor at the University of the District of Columbia and occasionally as a professorial lecturer at George Washington University Corcoran School of Art & Design and lecturer at The Catholic University of America. Prete’s work has been shown in national and international venues (Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, England, France, and the USA). His latest public artworks include “Freedom to Read” for the Capitol View Library in Washington DC, Soundwave Art Park, Sneaky Cat, Koala, Beginning and End of a Rainbow, and Solar Flare.Featured Work
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