4 | JUNE 11 - 17, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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Out(side) looking in – Worcester sculptor has his fi rst New England exhibition Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Native Worcesterite Steve Budou has had his work shown in exhibits across the country over the last few years — from Ohio to New Mexico. However, this July will be the fi rst time his sculpture will be featured in an exhibit in New England. The Jamestown Art Center in Rhode Island is running "Spacing Out(side)," an outdoor exhibition from July to October. Budou’s piece, named for his studio space in Troy, New York, will be one of the three sculptures on display in public spaces around Jamestown. Troy is a part of a series of steel pieces by Budou called "Vasanzio," inspired by his time in Rome. The ancient city has no shortage of artistic inspiration, but for Budou, what caught his attention were the trees. Visiting a park, Budou said, “I started thinking of the structure of the trees and how they’re able to stand up.” The seed of an idea germinated before growing into the fi rst in the "Vasanzio" series. “In Troy,” said Budou, “I wanted to explore what it means to feel a sense of gravity in the body. To stand erect, to resist gravity, requires a continual eff ort. How does that tension, the invisible interplay of structure and instability, translate in a sculpture?” He said he hopes that the piece will help the viewer explore the sense of their own bodies in space, and examine the concept of how matter stands upright, carries weight and
Vasanzio Troy – named for Budou’s studio in Troy, New York – will be on display as part of Jamestown Art Center’s exhibit, Spacing Out(side). STEVE BUDOU
moves through the world. Budou did not initially set out to become an artist. “Art was something I did for fun,” he said, having always enjoyed drawing. He said he didn’t have a formal art background, aside from a college minor in visual design he picked up in his senior year.
When asked about how he started working with steel, Budou credits Worcester’s Technocopia. He said he always likes to give “a shoutout” to the nonprofi t makerspace for helping him learn the basics of welding. This allowed him to be hired at a metal shop in New York and refi ne the skills that
let him create steel pieces like Troy. It was after he was accepted into a drawing residency in Spain that he began experimenting with sculpture. Steel lends itself best to this fl uid style of sculpting, where new pieces can be more easily welded on, whereas concrete is determined by the mold he
makes beforehand. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like until I pop it out of the mold,” said Budou. Concrete, he said, is an ideal material for “exploring the density of space.” “I was struck with building something off the ground,” said See SCULPTOR, Page 5
