Rude Calderón was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, where he spent the first seven years of his life. His family emigrated with him to Los Angeles, California in 1964 where he has remained all his life. Rude’s father apprenticed and worked in his uncle Manuel Zuñiga's sculpture studio where religious sculpture in the spanish baroque tradition was produced. His deep respect for the materials and craftsmanship of sculpture stems from this history.  

Stone sculpture is at the center of his art, the past fifteen years have been largely devoted to this medium. His artworks reflect a reverence towards the handling and natural appearance of materials that infer the omnipresent mystery in nature. Rude’s public art commission titled: “Leaping Fish, Nature’s Cycles”, a two piece site-specific sculpture executed out of New Mexico travertine, was awarded to him by Los Angeles County, at Belvedere Park Lake as part of the East Los Angeles Civic Center Renovation Project. This work beckons the viewer to circle the lake and the sculptures, thus embracing  one in its narrative cycle of renewal. His private commission sculptures are approached with the same vision of  dynamic integration, that allows the natural force imprinted into the stone through millenniums, to inform the form and spirit of the idea. Ever-unfolding consciousness and the energies that drive our physical and inner world are a source of  great interest and inspiration in his work. 

His paintings, sculptures, and prints have been widely exhibited since 1985, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum of Art as well as, Frank Pictures Gallery, The Art Art Project, Ave 50 Gallery, Ventura Artists’ Union Gallery, Tropico de Nopal Gallery. Nationally in: Anchorage, Alaska; Texas Art Museum, Jose Galvez Gallery in Tucson, Arizona; The Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Chicago, Illinois; The Brandywine Institute in Philadelphia, PA. Internationally his work has shown in: St. Petersburg, Russia, Free Gallery; Amerika Haus Berlin, U.S. Cultural Center, Berlin, Germany; Mexico City, Tijuana and Juarez, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; Galicia, Spain;  and El Museo del Niño, San Jose, Costa Rica. 

An insightful instructor of stone sculpture and introduction to sculpture at Otis College of Art & Design since 2002, and Teale Street Sculpture Studio since 2007, his approach to sculptural creation has moved many students to recognize their own inspiration while applying the power of craftsmanship.

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PUBLIC/PRIVATE ART COMMISSIONS
2010 - Archangel of Peace, St. Louis, MO. Private commission for collector Ron Smith.
2008 - Marine Sculpture, Collaboration with Paul Lindhard, Chris Provenzano and G. Ramon Byrne. Camp Ocean Pines, Cambria, California            
2007 - Redemption/Our Song, Woodland Hills, California. Private commission. Five part group stone sculpture. Woodland Hills, California            
2006 - Saticoy Village, Chumash Historic Marker, Saticoy, California. Collaboration with Paul Lindhard (Art City Studios). Basalt stone composition and bronze       
2004 - Leaping Fish, Nature’s Cycles (East Los Angeles Civic Center Redevelopement  Project), two travertine stone sculptures with water works, on the surface of five acre, Belvedere Park Lake.   
Public Art Fabrication/Consultant - 2004 Carved and served as design and technical consultant for the stone elements in Jose Antonio Aguirre’s stone and mosaic murals for the new East Los Angeles Library.
2008-2009 Carved monumental granite urns with Paul Lindhard for Katsuja restaurants. 
2009-2010 Glazed and fired tile murals for San Jose Fire Station 2; Goss Stadium, Oregon; and Valley Boulevard  by artist Roberto Delgado 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 - Stone Journey - The Art, Art Project, 21st Century Insurance Towers, Woodland Hills, Ca
2008 - Redemption/Our Song - Kate and Brent Nelson Sculpture Garden, Woodland Hills, Ca 
2001 - Rude Calderón -Sculptures and Mono-serigraphs - Occidental College, Library Gallery,  L. A. CA
1997 - Art Cabaret - The IMPROVisation Comedy Night Club, Los Angeles, California
1996 - Love's Transcendence - Granados II Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1995 - Rude Calderon, Paintings/Sculptures - Hollywood Digital, Hollywood, California
1994 - Works of Rudy Calderón - Costa Rican Consulate, Los Angeles, California
1993 - Aesthetic Rituals - EZTV, West Hollywood, California

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
1998 - IVth International Festival of Snow and Ice Sculpture - Perm, Russia. 
Rock the World - Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano - San Jose, Costa  Rica
1997 - Visiones Lejanas-Artico 97 - El Museo de los Niños, San Jose, Costa Rica. 
 El Museo del I.M.P.E.,Ciudad Juarez, Mexico 
1996 - Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana/Azcapotzalco, Mexico D.F., Mexico
1995 - Self Help Graphics Prints - Amerika Haus Berlin, U.S. Cultural Center, Berlin, Germany. 
 Pinturas de Rudy Calderon - San Xenxo, Pontevedra, Spain
1993 - Multi Cultural Exhibit - Shizuoka, Japan. Galeria de Almacen de Fujikyo - Numazo, Shizuoka, Japan
1992 - Inter-View -  Free Gallery, St Petersburg, Russia.
 Images From the Border - Los Angeles, CA, Tijuana, Mexico,  
1990 - Semana de Cultura Chicana: Aztlan en Mexico, CCH, de la UNAM, Mexico City

 SELECTED EXHIBITS
2012  - Frank Pictures Gallery
2011 - Written in Stone - Artists Union Gallery, Ventura CA. Hanging Gardens - 1019 West, Beacon Arts Building,   Inglewood, CA . Tel-art-phone - Beacon Arts Building, Inglewood, CA.
Art as Healing - 1st Defense Inc. Los Angeles, CA. Stone Sculpture - Art City Gallery, Ventura, CA
2010 - Artists’ Union Gallery, Ventura, CA; Art City Gallery, Ventura, CA
2009 - Frank Pictures Gallery, Bergamot Sation, Santa Monica, CA; The Politics of Green - Curated and exhibited Artists’ Union Gallery, Ventura, CA; Salon Contemporary - The Art Art Project Gallery, Canoga Park, CA; Los Angeles Latino Heritage Artists - Fremont Gallery, South Pasadena, CA
2008 - Frank Pictures Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, California,  the bellwether effect: At The Foreground of Design - Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, SB CA. Latino Visions - Oxnard College McNish Art Gallery, Oxnard, California LA vs. War - Old Firehouse, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA. California Sculpture Symposium - Camp Ocean Pines, Cambria, CA  
2007 - Sculpture Exhibit - Blue Bird Art house, Whittier, CA. 2007 Salon Showcase - Artists’ Union Gallery, Ventura, CA. Simply Stated - Red Brick Gallery, Ventura, CA
2006 - Surviving: Kinkade - I-5 Gallerry at The Brewery Complex, Los Angeles, California. A Short and Sweet Epiphany aka Dia de Los Reyes - Tropico de Nopal Gallery, Los Angeles. 
2005 - Hispanic Heritage Month Fine Art - California Technical Institute, Pasadena, California. Miranco al Norte/Mirando al Sur - Cal State University Northridge Galleries, Northridge, California. Fine Art Showcase - Self Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California.
2004 - Likeness & Presence - Self Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California. Images & Visions - MA Art Space, Los Angeles, California.
2003 - Sculptures at 21st Century Plaza - Chatsworth, California. 2002  Rebirth-Retoño – Tropico de Nopal Gallery, Los Angeles, California. Forty Something – Fifty Bucks Gallery, Pomona, CA
2001  Take It (Recent LA Figuratives) - Eye Five Gallery, Los Angeles, California. Best of the West - Zero One Gallery, West Hollywood, California.
2000 - Revolving Expressions - Casa Azul Gallery - Pomona Arts District, Pomona , California. Retribution of Circumstance - 50 Bucks Gallery, Los Angeles, California. 
 1999 - Downtowners, Outsiders and Beyond - Rico Gallery, Santa Monica, California. Studio Gallery, West Hollywood, 1998  Dia de Los Muertos - Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California.
1997 - L.A. Slide - The Living Room, Santa Monica, California. Self Help Graphics Prints - Los Angeles County Museum of Art Sales & Rental Gallery. Saber Escultura/Sculptural Savvy - Self Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles. 'Downtown Lives! '97' - Multi-media sculptural installation, Los Angeles, California.
1996 - Across the Street-Self Help Graphics and Chicano Art in L.A. -  Texas Art Museum, C. Christi. Anchorage, Alaska. Now Be Here - Granados II Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Beloved Chicana - Self  Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California.
1995 - Across the Street -  Laguna Art Museum,  Laguna Beach, California. Across the Street  - UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. Down and Under - Jose Galvez Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
1994 - FAR Bazzar - Los Angeles, California. Voces/Voices SHG Prints - Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, Ca.
1993 - Fusion '93 - Pauline Hirsh Gallery, Jewish Council Federation, Los Angeles, CA. Los Angeles Recovery Workshop - El Pueblo Gallery, Los Angeles, California. From el Corazon de East L.A. - The Mexican Fine Arts Center, Chicago, Illinois.           
1992 - Four Sculptors - Self Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California. Quincentenial Monoprints - Self Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California. FAR Bazzar - Los Angeles, CA
1990 - Natural Forces: In Los Angeles Sculpture -  Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA .Self Help Graphics: The Atelier Program Retrospective - Bridge Gallery, L. A. City Hall. Best of the West - Zero One Gallery, West Hollywood, California. Fire Show VII - Self Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California. Brandywine Workshop - Brandywine Institute, Philadelphia, PA.
1989 - Hispanic Art on Paper -  Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Works on Paper - B-1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. Self Help Graphics Serigraphs - The Mexican Fine Arts Museum, Chicago, Illinois.
1988 - Five From E.L.A. - Rex Wignall Museum Gallery, Chaffee College, Cucamonga, CA. Atelier X - Self Help Graphics,Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, CA. Presenting L.A. Works - Galeria Sin Fronteras, Austin, Texas. Self Help Graphics Atelier Prints - Brockman Gallery, Los Angeles, .
1987 - East Los Streetscapers: Individual Expressions - The Art Store Gallery, Los Angeles. 
Fire Show IV - Self  Help Graphics, Galeria Otra Vez, Los Angeles, California.          
1986 - Sangre Nueva - Centro de la Raza, San Diego, California.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Video interview for Coagula Art Journal, with Mat Gleason  2011, Ventura Breeze “Redemption to Build On” by Sophia Kidd, July 2008, “A Language of Passion” - Documentary video by Patricia Cunliffe, 2004. Eastern Group Publications - “A Tale of Two Fish” April, 2004. Diario de Colima - Interview in four parts, Dec. 23, 2001,  Jan. 6, 13 & 20, 2002. Canal 12 TV Colima, Mexico – Interview, October, 2001. "Cartapasios Cultural Magazine" Ecos de la Costa, Colima, Mexico - Published artworks, 2001.
Review of Conference "Arte Chicano Contemporaneo" -Diario de Colima, Mexico, 2001. Review of Conference "Arte Chicano Contemporaneo" - El Comentario, Universidad de Colima, 2001. Cultural TV Channel of Perm, Russia – Interview, 1998 Canal Cultural de la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica - TV interview, "Rock Your World", 1998. North from Mexico - Interview for Television Cultural Magazine, Mexico City, 1998. La Republica - Costa Rica, Nov., 1997. "Vista L.A." - ABC, Channel 7, 1996. "Emerging Artist Profile" - Coagula Art Journal, Feb., 1996. Los Angeles Times Calender, "Love's Transcendence" art review, 1996. "Arte Without Walls" - Buenavision Cable, Feb., 1994. Smena, St Petersburg, Russia “Inter-View” art review, 1992 NBC News – on the trip and exhibit to St. Petersburg, Russia, Sept. 27th, 1992. "East L.A. After Dark" - Buenavision Cable, Feb. 20th, & Mar. 6th, 1991. Los Angeles Times Calendar, "Natural Forces in Los Angeles Sculpture" art review, 1990. "L.A. Art" - Documentary video by Angelica Gonzalez, L.A.C.M.A. & Public Access Cable, 1989."Muralismo Chicano" - ECCO television program aired worldwide, 1988. "East Los Streetscapers" - La Opinion, 1986.

ART INSTRUCTOR
2002-Present   Otis College of Art and Design: Introduction to Sculpture, Stone Sculpture
2007-Present   Teale Street Sculpture Studio: Stone Sculpture
2012-Present    Barnsdall Art Center: Stone Sculpture
EDUCATION
1980  Associate Arts degree in Fine Arts, Mount San Antonio College, Walnut CA
1985-1988  Bachelor’s of Fine Arts studies with an emphasis in painting and sculpture,  California State University Los Angeles
1984-1989 Apprenticeship and collaboration with Streetscapers public art and mural team.