Rudy Pozzatti: Indiana's Printmaking Icon

The work of Rudy Pozzatti is well-known and loved. The man has been a legend in the print environs of the United States and beyond, but he has been revered in the state of Indiana, and the great town of Bloomington, Indiana; where he built a terrific print program at Indiana University, trained thousands of printmakers and teachers of the medium we all know and love.

I had occasion to work with Pozzatti one summer during my graduate internship at Indiana University's print shop. The late, great, Pegram Harrison was coordinator of the shop and it was a great training ground for printmakers, where they could gain practical experience working in the medium and have a chance to work with visiting artists. I had occasion to work on prints for Steven Sorman and David Shapiro at that time. I remember everyday Pozzatti would come in after having done his workout and before he would meet his good friend, IU's famed basketball coach, Bobby Knight for lunch. Pozzatti loved to tell stories and loved the interaction with the visiting artists. It was a great privilege to meet and work with him.

I was struck by several things about Pozzatti. His faith was visible in his life and his work. His love of making prints,his love for his family, and always challenging himself as an artist remain lasting impressions. He came into the room like a dynamo - always with a big smile and handshake. It would be hard not to be impressed by the man, but his artistic career was equally impressive.

Pozzatti's work has been shown and collected worldwide. He came from Colorado, and received his BFA and MFA degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He taught at University of Nebraska and Indiana University, earning a Distinguished Professor of Art from the latter.

Pozzatti was fascinated with faith and the artistic expressions one can find in a place of faith - church. His studied domes of cathedrals and the stained glass windows of churches he visited. His drawing skills were accomplished, and his want to explore the print medium inspired countless others to do the same. There is little the man has not achieved in his lengthy career, but what transcends in his wrk is a searching for truth and an unquenchable thirst to keep making his art. We all should be so fortunate.

Grants
Ford Foundation, Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles, CA
Ford Grant, Adachi Institute, Tokyo, Japan
Fulbright Grant, Italy
Guggenheim Fellowship, Creative Printmaking, Italy
N.E.A. Grant, Univ. of Missouri
U.S. State Department, Cultural Exchange to Soviet Union
U.S. State Department, Cultural Exchange visit to Yugoslavia
S.T.A.G., United States Information Agency, Washington, D.C.
Represented U.S. in International Cultural Exchange in Budapest, Hungary

Public Collections
Albertina Museum, London, England
Bibliotheque Nazionale, Paris, France
City Museum of Karlsruhe, Germany
Malmo Museum, Malmo, Sweden
Museum of Art, Sydney, Australia
Museum of Art, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Pushkin Museum, Moscow, USSR
Toronto Museum of Art, Toronto, Canada
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH
Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, IN
Federico Castellon Memorial Collection, Columbia Univ. ,NY
Fine Arts Museum, Univ. of W. Virginia, Morgantown, WV
Fogg Art Museum, Boston, MA
High Museum, Atlanta, GA
Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Iowa State Art Museum, Ames, IA
J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, KY
Kalamazoo Institute of Art, Kalamazoo, MI
Library of Congress, DC
Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, CA
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
National Gallery, Washington, DC
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, PA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
Sheldon Memorial Art Museum, Lincoln, NE
Sheldon Swope Museum of Art, Terre Haute, IN
University of Louisville Print Collection, Louisville, KY
U.S. Offices and Embassies
Yale University Art Museum, New Haven, CT