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“Tyche,” the Greek goddess of fortune, is a complex, Baroque style, terra-cotta statue of intertwined figures by John Belardo, representing a narrative of prosperity and decline. Perhaps it’s also a narrative of the tribulations and trials in the career of every artist.
As fate would have it, Tyche has brought good fortune to Belardo. His work garnered the $2,000 Allied Artists of America Silver Medal of Honor at the 110th annual Allied Artists of America juried exhibition, displayed online and at the renowned Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, OH.
Belardo, who hails from Pine Plains in upstate New York, studied as a sculptor at the New York Academy of Art, the Newington Cropsey Academy of Art, and as an apprentice in the studio of Richard McDermott Miller. In 2022 he received the Artist in Residence at Chesterwood, historic home of Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, MA.
His sculptures and drawings have been exhibited at the Butler Institute of American Art; the Cathedral of St John the Divine and the Salmagundi Club (both in New York City); and the World Maker Faire at New York Hall of Science. His work is permanently installed at Georgetown University, Cooperstown, NY, and Lehman College CUNY, the Bronx, New York.
According to information posted on his website (www.johnbelardo.com), Belardo’s creative process develops sculpture compositions though a dynamic system in which several figures interact physically. “There is a spontaneous order that emerges over time from the interaction of individual figures. A multiple figure composition is exponentially more complex and time-consuming to develop than a single figure composition.”
Belardo has dedicated much of his artistic career to drawing from both life and sculptural master work. “Drawing becomes an exercise of visual intelligence and disciplined critical thinking.” |
