#41 Gerry Judah

Gerry was born in 1951 in Calcutta and grew up in West Bengal before his family moved to London when he was ten years old. As a young child Gerry was extremely moved and influenced by the landscapes of India, there theatrical rituals, and the ornate architecture. The theatrical aspects of this influence would become apparent in his later work. When his family moved to Austere London, it was still in its post war state and it was a major shock to Gerry. Because of this he spent most of his time in his bedroom drawing imaginary landscapes, architectural fantasies and futuristic cars. It was because of this that Gerry became an artist. He left Whitefield Secondary Modern School in London in 1969 and worked in a number of odd jobs from kitchen porter to architectural draughtsman. In 1970-1972 he went on to study Foundation Art and Design at Barnet College of Art. Afterwards in 1972-1975 he obtained a Double First-Class Honours Degree in Fine Art at Goldsmith College, University of London. He then went on to study sculpture as a postgraduate at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London from 1975-1977. After college Gerry set up his studio on Shaftesbury Avenue which is the theatre center in the west end of London. This is where he began to work on his sculptures. Since Gerry Judah was not yet a accomplished artist and he still needed to earn his keep and finance his work so he took up jobs around the corner in many theatres as a stage hand and scenic artist. Judah began to like the public nature of the work he did in the theatres and wanted to incorporate his artwork into the public in some way so he began to find settings for is own artwork in more public places than the rarefied spaces of conventional galleries. He began to build a reputation for innovative design, working in film, television, theatres, museums and public places. Amongst his many commissions from public museums and institutions, Judah was asked by the Imperial War Museum in London to create a large model of the selection ramp in Auschwitz Birkenau for the Holocaust Museum opened by the Queen. The extensive research and numerous visits to Auschwitz led Judah to produce a highly acclaimed work that encouraged him to take his art is yet a new direction. Gerry decided to return to his fine art beginnings and he decided to make art born of his reflections on historical events. He created a body of large three dimensional paintings that explored the devastation's of the war and ravages man has made upon the environment caused by recent conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. These works have had many solo exhibits in many galleries such as Timber Yard, Flowers East Gallery, and a solo Exhibit in New York and many more.

http://www.judah.co.uk/