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Béla
Bácsi's extraordinary marble and bronze sculpture is exhibited
coast to coast and is held in significant collections throughout
the country.
Bácsi
is a Professional Sculptor member of the National Sculpture Society,
New York City (est. 1893).
Béla
Bácsi was born in Gyor, Hungary. At age six, he and his
family moved to the United States. Continuing the family’s
long tradition as stone carvers, Bácsi took an interest
in carving at an early age. Essentially self-taught, in 1978,
Bácsi gained employment at the Studio Ferdinando Palla
in Pietrasanta, Italy, where he became an “ornamentista”
or fine detail carver.
Returning
to the U.S. and settling in Cleveland, Ohio, he then worked as
an architectural ornamental master designer at Fischer and Jirouch
Architectural Ornamentation and as a bronze foundryman at the
nationally acclaimed Studio Foundry. Eventually, Bácsi
opened his own sculpture studio and now lives and works in Santa
Barbara, California.
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In
1999, Bácsi was awarded both the Gold Medal and
Maurice B. Hexter Prize at the National Sculpture Society
Members’ Exhibition in New York City.
In 2001, fellow exhibitors at the CAC 91st annual members'
exhibition awarded him the Gold Medal for the Carrara
marble masterwork "Driver of the Wheel".
He won the California Art Club Gold Medal for best Sculpture
again at the 96th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition in 2007.
Bela recently won the 2011 California Art Club Gold Medal for
Sculpture.
This is his fourth win of this prestigious award.
Bácsi
holds a California Community Colleges teaching certificate
for adult education programs and has taught at Santa Barbara
City College and offers private classes. In addition, he serves
as an
adviser to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docents’ Council.
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