After 20 years in the furniture and lighting design business, Josh Urso switches his creative focus here with this new body of sculptural work. His experience in producing functional objects and his familiarity with manufacturing processes have instilled in him a love of materials and a desire to explore purely sculptural forms. These concrete pieces represent a fascination with process and the immediacy of cast concrete, but also a wanting to create monumental forms out of commonplace materials. Josh draws inspiration and techniques from both the art world and the more humble building trades – fabricating precise molds, blending concrete and aggregate mixtures to effect surface texture and weight, and finishing the work with the powerful blows of a hammer and chisel.
Josh studied engineering and product design at Carnegie Mellon University and has owned and operated Josh Urso Design, a furniture and lighting design business for the past 20 years. He is riding a trajectory of making that is headed away from convention and use and towards his true love of materials and their inherent beauty and simplicity.
Josh’s sculptures are also suitable for outdoor installations such as sculpture gardens, landscape elements, and public spaces. They can be scaled up with site-specific dimensions in mind. Commissions are welcomed.
Statement:
Nature and specifically the strata of geology inspires my work. I’m attempting to capture and convey the beauty of rock and soil through the use of concrete, stone, and pigment. My inspiration comes not only from the macro of canyons and riverbeds but also the micro of dried mud and aggregate.
I hope to preserve my personal memory of encounters with these elements, even as erosion, climate change, and other manmade and natural forces erase them.
I have had a love of materials since college and a desire to explore purely sculptural forms. These concrete pieces represent a fascination with process and the immediacy of cast concrete, but also a wanting to create monumental forms out of commonplace materials. I draw inspiration and techniques from both the art world and the more humble building trades – fabricating precise molds, blending concrete and aggregate mixtures to effect surface texture and weight, and finishing the work with the powerful blows of a hammer and chisel.