Márton Váró (born March 15, 1943) is a Hungarian sculptor, recognized for his monumental public art.

Biography

Márton Váró was born in Székelyudvarhely, Hungary (now Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania) and attended Ion Andreescu Institute of Arts in Cluj, Romania (1960 to 1966), studying sculpture. In 1970, he relocated to Debrecen, Hungary, where he soon completed several sculptures for public places. He was awarded the Munkácsy Prize in 1984. The recipient of a Fulbright scholarship in 1988, Váró moved to Orange County, California, where he immediately became affiliated with the University of California, Irvine. His initial years in the US were focused on studying the relationship between architecture and sculpture. In 1990, he became the Artist in Residence in the City of Brea, California, for a public art project. Váró currently lives and works in California, spending summers working in Carrara, Italy, where his marble originates.

Works

Márton Váró primarily uses Carrara marble as the medium for his sculptures; however, he also works with other stones, such as Texas limestone, which was the material of choice for the "Angels" at the

Bass Performance Hall The Bass Performance Hall (also known as Bass Hall) is a performing arts venue, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Overview The hall was first suggested by pianist Van Cliburn to philanthropist Nancy Lee Bass and her husband, Perry Richardson Bass.S ...

in Ft. Worth, Texas. He is noted for his life-size sculptures, which are figurative in nature. His sculptures often depict draped female figures, often emerging from the block of stone from which they are carved. His approach to sculpting is true to classic form, carving directly into the marble or stone, as did the masters like Michelangelo—in fact, Varo's marble comes from the same quarry in

Carrara, Italy Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mott ...

as did

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

's. The facade of the Ave Maria Oratory church features Váró's 30-foot-tall sculpture of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary with the words "Ave Maria" ( Hail Mary), with his smaller depiction of Christ the Good Shepherd featured inside.

Awards and scholarships

* 1991 Ladanyi Foundation, New York * 1989 Fulbright Scholarship, University of California, Irvine * 1984 Munkacsy Prize

Books

* Watson, Ronald. 1999. "Angels on High: Márton Váró 's Limestone Angels on the Nancy Lee and Perry Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas". Texas Christian University Press. ,

References

Ave Maria Celebrates Unveiling of Annunciation Sculpture

Unveiling of Annunciation sculpture

Work on annunciation sculpture resumes at AMU campus

Bass Performance Hall

BREA: Civic Center Art Ready to Break Free

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varo, Marton 1943 births Living people People from Odorheiu Secuiesc 20th-century Hungarian sculptors 21st-century Hungarian sculptors Hungarian expatriates in the United States University of California, Irvine people