Connect
To Top

Meet Nick Petronzio of Nick Petronzio Sculpture in Glendale

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Petronzio.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a second generation sculptor, creative director and sculpture fabrication specialist that began my career in fine art at the age of twelve working under the tutelage of my father Robert Petronzio acclaimed sculptor, founder and director of the Institute des Beaux Arts in Montreal, Canada.

In addition to the early influence of my father, my mother Dora Bendahan, is a ceramicist and my sister Nina Petronzio is an interior designer and founder of her luxury home furnishings company called Plushome. Coming from an artistic family, I was naturally drawn to art and knew my calling to sculpture fabrication early on.

I’ve become known for my versatility in sculpting styles, techniques as well as the wide variety of materials that I work with, I’ve produced a wide range of sculptural works that range from the reproduction of a bronze Pietro Cipriani sculpture for the J. Paul Getty Museum to Yayoi Kusamas Hymn of Life Tulips in Beverly Gardens Park to several key Disney characters such as: Mickey Mouse, Rex and Pluto for Disney theme parks world-wide. Additionally, I’ve sculpted interactive and educational sculptural displays for the California Science Center, Getty Villa and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

With over 20 years of experience in sculpture production, I’ve earned the reputation as a sculpture specialist within the fine art, public art and entertainment communities. I work closely with art directors, project managers and artists such as: Yayoi Kusama ‘Hymn of Life Tulips’, Tanya Ragir ‘Fearless’ and Jim Carrey ‘Ayla’, to bring their artistic visions to fruition.

I’m fascinated with the human experience, spirit and interconnectedness of all things in nature. I’m in love with the human form and found objects inspire me to create dynamic and sensitive works that explore ephemeral nature and mankind’s broad emotional range.

Most recently, I was commissioned by The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills, to design and fabricate a monumental 20′ tall stainless steel sculpture titled ‘Sway’ which is now on permanent display in front of the hotel at the iconic Gateway to Beverly Hills.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Choosing a career in art is full of struggles at every turn and is definitely not a paved road perhaps especially when you come from a family of artists. It has never been a smooth road nor have I ever expected it to be.

Some of the struggles along the way included: working full time jobs in restaurants while putting myself through college and prolonging my education in order to graduate, taking out personal lines of credit and student loans to pay for art materials books and often rent and food. Once I graduated from college, I compromised building my own body of art by working any sculpture related job I could find in order to cover basic living expenses and start paying off college loans.

I ended up working restaurant jobs at night and sculpting on film sets for years. The hours were ridiculously long, the pay low and the feeling of upward mobility was non-existent.

Making the choice to move to Los Angeles with no money and starting from scratch with no real contacts or contracts of work was terrifying but I knew I needed to try and I knew that I was really good at what I do. I remember getting on the plane from Montreal to Los Angeles and thinking “What are you doing and who do you think you are?”

Getting work and opening doors in LA was tough. I took any job I could related to my field. I worked jobs as a body shopper and often laminated fiberglass for months on end in scenic shops which felt like punishment for being so ambitious. The pay was low and living expenses were high and I nearly gave up several times.

Building new relationships with no track record, past clients or referrals was daunting and making my own introductions to potential employers seemed like senseless self loathing and I often felt like a used car salesman trying to show my portfolio, describe myself and my capabilities.

I finally got a break with a scenic shop called Ironwood as a freelance sculptor and mold maker. One gig led to another and then several more with the same company and as my work resume built up, I found other sculpting and mold making gigs with other shops and built more relationships. Eventually those relationships grew and I began leading mold shops and art departments for a couple shops for several years.

Working as a freelance art department lead was good but not great. The hours were still quite long, the work was labor intensive and the pay was mediocre at best. So, I began teaching sculpture on weekends at Teale Studio in Culver city to supplement my income. This led me to take additional side jobs making molds and casting students sculptures in my garage at home at night. Eventually I managed to save some money, enough to rent and artist space in the Teal Studio building and offer mold making casting services to students.

Word spread and I began to build a reputation with a steady stream of clients. They saw that I cared for their work as though it were my own and my work was truly appreciated by them. Slowly, more established artists and clients trickled in and were inclined to have me produce their works. After two years of teaching sculpture part time and offering sculpture services, I had more work than I could do on my own and less space than I needed to operate in. I needed to decide how to move forward.

I was about to rent a slightly larger but very run down auto mechanics garage next door but the jump in rent, renovation cost, utilities, insurance, employees, payroll tools and incorporating a company, were all new to me and to be honest, quite scary since I had never done any of these things. Plus, I now had a new born child that I needed to support and feared what would happen if things didn’t work out.

The night before I signed the lease on the new studio space, I received a phone call from my former employer Ralph Hudson the Owner of Ironwood. He was requesting a quote for some sculpting and mold making services. I asked him why he never hired me full time and kept me as a freelance and he said he could never guarantee a steady stream of work since art department jobs were project based and not ongoing.

In short, I saw his call as a sign, so I explained to him my growing art services business and negotiated a tentative merger with an option to become a partner. Currently I am the Creative director at Ironwood where we offer specialty fabrication services to the art and entertainment industries. We have three departments: wood shop, metal shop and the art department which complement each other well.

 

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Ironwood is a specialty fabrication shop that combines the capabilities of three fabrication departments under one roof. We design and build custom displays for museums and themed environments as well as fabricate sculpture from concept through to completion in a wide range of materials. We offer custom metal fabrication, wood working, mold making, casting and finishes.

As a company, we take pride in our personalized customer service and collaboration with our clients. We work closely with designers, art directors and project managers to bring their design ideas to fruition. Our team work defines us and allows us to trouble shoot projects and for see potential issues before they become fabrication problems. The teamwork that exists within our departments allows us to develop and build to the highest standard.

We’re a small company that does big things! We take pride in the work we produce and we treat our clients work as though it were our own.

What were you like growing up?
As the third and youngest child, I was sensitive and shy but also yearned for attention. I drew, painted and read a lot but wasn’t incredibly social since I had a lot of ear infections that were extremely painful and required continuous visits to the hospital which culminated in a big ear operation at the age of ten.

After that operation, things changed for me. No longer plagued by pain and hearing loss, I came out of my shell and became more playful and social. I liked to joke and laugh with others and especially at myself. I definitely became the class clown in high school.

As I got older, I became very interested in playing sports, cooking, painting and sculpting. My parents and teachers identified my fascination with process, strategy and outcome as well as a talent for art and they encouraged me to pursue it as far as I wanted to. They pointed me in the right direction with a lot of positive feedback and support and I learned to harness my talent, apply myself and develop the skills necessary to keep building onto it.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in