A Studio Visit with Sculptor John Udvardy - Inside Art with Michael Rose

A Studio Visit with Sculptor John Udvardy - Inside Art with Michael Rose

 

Visiting an artist’s studio is a special experience. The place where a creator makes their art is often a space where they work solitarily. In a series of nondescript commercial buildings on a quiet side street in Warren, Rhode Island, sculptor and retired RISD professor John Udvardy takes part in largely unseen labors that result in finely orchestrated found-object sculptures. A recent visit with Udvardy was a revealing trip through the artist’s oeuvre and into his personal history.

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Born in humble circumstances in Ohio, Udvardy did not come from a family of artists or collectors. Asked about the roots of his artistic inclinations, he reminisces about collecting glass bottles as a boy and says he coveted them for their shapes. This love of form remains with the artist today and is present in everything he creates. Throughout his studio, carefully selected objects are omnipresent. Found in yard sales and on street corners, these products of salvage are his medium.

 

 

Udvardy did not begin his career as a sculptor. His earliest artistic inspirations were found on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post, which was renowned for its illustrations by the likes of Norman Rockwell. Udvardy copied images from the popular magazine to train his hand. Finding his way to the Cleveland Institute of Art, he studied painting and met his wife, Lyn. He matriculated to Yale’s MFA program, where some of the giants of American art were professors. James Rosenquist and Richard Diebenkorn were two of the bold-faced names teaching during Udvardy’s time as a student. Alongside him in classes were other notable artists of the twentieth century like Richard Serra and Chuck Close.

Where some of his fellow Yalies headed to New York after graduation, Udvardy committed to a post in Brown University’s Art Department. This was shocking to his contemporaries, who suggested in less-than-uncertain terms that Providence was a town beneath the caliber of serious artists. For the young Udvardy though, the position at Brown offered financial security that would elude his counterparts in the early years of their careers.

 

 

What started at Brown transitioned into a long-term career at RISD, where he taught for decades. Rhode Island is where he raised his family, taught generations of students, and produced an incredible body of work. For many years he maintained a studio on Eddy Street in the capital city, before it was demolished to make way for the highway relocation that reshaped the Jewelry District. When he lost his Providence studio, he decamped to Warren. There, his art-making facilities are spread across three discrete buildings that formerly housed business in the automotive and fisheries industries.

Like many artists, Udvardy is somewhat guarded about his creative space. He jokes about shoeing away curious onlookers who accidentally showed up at his door during a local open studios tour. For this sculptor, his studio is a private and productive workspace. When walking through the buildings, the myriad inspirations that inform Udvardy’s artmaking become evident.

 

 

On shelves throughout the studio, one might notice things ranging from African sculpture to arrowheads in shadow boxes. Pottery and ceramics line shelves in front of windows while artworks made in an earlier era of Udvardy’s career are stacked against the wall. Udvardy opens the door to a small lavatory, where the walls are covered in an array of heart-shaped knick knacks he has collected both nearby and on his various travels.

In addition to Scandinavia, Spain, and other spots throughout Europe, Udvardy has spent time in North Africa and has returned to the American Southwest a number of times. Wherever he goes, whether it is down the street or across the country, he is constantly on the lookout for new items to add to his creative menagerie.

 

 

Tables in his studio are piled with materials that will eventually become part of an artwork. On the floor a dozen vintage irons are neatly stacked, on top of another surface sit orbs of varying shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. Metalwork, copper gutters, and wooden frames are spotted around every corner. Large completed sculptures are wrapped in plastic and ready for exhibition, while in-progress works idle nearby awaiting finishing touches. Tools of every description are dotted throughout the space, sat down by a busy craftsman. While his workspace is packed with material, Udvardy’s sculptures are pared down and meditative.

Udvardy’s work has been shown in more venues than can be listed here. His sculptures have found their way from his vast studio into private and public collections, including those of esteemed museums. When asked what it means to see sculptures go from his Warren studio into important new homes, Udvardy reflects for a moment before saying simply, “It feels good!”

 

Learn more about John Udvardy at www.johnudvardy.com.