A tiny, perfectly made metal rickshaw supports a billowing, cloud-like structure; another holds aloft a branching, spired form. Is it meant to suggest a burnt-out cathedral? No, it’s the skeleton of a coal-fired power station. Another micro-rickshaw carries an unevenly bulging, asymmetrically latticed shape that represents a rock. And the asymmetrical spiral? A portal of some kind – a Blakean door of perception? - Jay Merrick
Gerry Judah’s grandparents migrated from Baghdad to the flourishing Sephardi Jewish community in India during the early 1900’s. His mother was born in Calcutta and his father in Rangoon, then Burma. Gerry was born in Calcutta in 1951 where he grew up before his family migrated to London in 1961 when he was ten years old.
The fantastic architecture of temples, mosques and synagogues and the dramatic landscapes, along with the many different religious and cultural festivals and their theatrical rituals during his upbringing in India, triggered Gerry's highly creative imagination, thus setting the tone for his remarkable career.
Gerry's formal studies began with a Foundation Course of Art and Design at Barnet College (1970-1972) before obtaining a First-Class Honours degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College (1972-1975) followed by Postgraduate Sculpture at the Slade, University College London (1975-1977).
After leaving Art School, he set up his first professional studio in Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of London’s theatreland. In order to make ends meet and fund his own projects, he took on work as a scenic artist in the neighbouring theatres such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, National Theatre and many others. This environment of very diverse large-scale props and set constructions inspired Gerry to himself produce work on a monumental scale, mainly outside to engage the public at large.
Gerry has worked on many very important high-profile commissions for museums and institutions, including the Imperial War Museum in London and Manchester, Royal Institute of British Architects, Louise T Blouin Foundation, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, London. His work has also entered many public and private collections.
This exhibition addresses a number of different aspects of Gerry Judah's career. The merits of digital presentation allows us to engage you in Art that would be impossible to present in the physical space because of either scale or location.
We are grateful to the Artist for his fullest cooperation and in particular for his two different revealing autobiographical essays, and for facilitating the sharing of other essays about his practice by scholars Adam Hencz, Michael Glover, Jay Merrick and Hadani Ditmars.
Unravelling Histories: The Poetic Structures of Gerry Judah by Adam Hencz
St Paul's Cathedral: Great War Commemorative Sculptures by Gerry Judah
Prescient Landscapes and Fragile Architectures by Hadani Ditmars
Auschwitz Model by Gerry Judah
Great Works: The Crusader, 2010, Gerry Judah by Michael Glover
