Theodore "Ted" Odza (1915–1998) was an American artist, curator, and educator, known for his sculptures and abstract paintings. He taught art classes at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and later served as the chair of the art department of

Laney College Laney College is a Public college, public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County, California, Alameda County. Laney Coll ...

. Additionally, he curated multiple national touring art exhibitions of Central European artists.

Biography

Theodore Odza was born on January 7, 1915, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His father Herbert G. Odza, was born in

Halych Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the P ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

; and his mother Lena (née Fischman) was born in New York City. There were six children in the family, five brothers and one sister. Odza graduated (B.A. 1959 and M.A. 1961, 1963) from University of California, Berkeley, where he studied under

Sidney Gordin Sidney Alexander Gordin (1918–1996) was a Russian-born American artist and educator, known for his abstract paintings, prints, and sculptures. He was a Professor Emeritus at University of California, Berkeley, where he taught from 1958 to 1986. ...

Harold Paris Harold Persico Paris (1925–1979) was an American printmaker, sculptor and educator. He taught art classes at the University of California, Berkeley from 1963 until 1979. Early life and education Paris was born on August 16, 1925 in Edgemere, ...

, and

Wilfrid Zogbaum Wilfrid "Zog" Zogbaum (1915 – January 7, 1965) was an American painter, sculptor, and educator. He was also a commercial photographer in the late 1940s, and started a sculpture studio in Montauk, New York, Montauk. Life Wilfrid Zogbaum was born ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, he made abstract expressionist metal sculptures, often constructed with steel or bronze. In 1963 to 1964, Odza taught at the

Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie) is a public university of visual arts and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw U ...

( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie). During his time in Poland he created many new artist connections, and in the following years he curated national touring art exhibitions of Central European artists. Most notably, he curated the exhibition ''Contemporary Painters from Hungary'' (1985) at Gallery Route One. Odza's work can be found in public museum art collections include

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

, and

Oakland Museum of California The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cali ...

Personal life

Odza was married in 1940 to dancer

Mimi Kagan Mimi Kagan (1918–1999; née Miriam Gabrilovna Kagan, and also known as Miriam Odza, Mimi Kagan Kim) was a Russia-born American modern dancer, choreographer, educator, and dance journalist. She was the founder of the avant-garde Mimi Kagan Danc ...

, which ended in divorce in 1958. Odza married Janice Marie Gale Johnson in 1962.

Exhibitions

* September 1963 – Ted Odza and Mildred Lachman, Quay Gallery, San Francisco, California * October 1963 – solo exhibition of metal sculpture,

Richmond Art Center Richmond Art Center is a nonprofit arts organization based in Richmond, California, founded in 1936. History In 1936, Richmond-resident Hazel Salmi began teaching classes under the Emergency Education Program (EEP) of the Works Progress Adminis ...

, Richmond, California * June 1964 – solo exhibition, Gallery of Contemporary Art in Warsaw,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

* February–April 1982 – ''Theodore Odza - Welded Steel Sculpture'',

Palo Alto Art Center The Palo Alto Art Center is a multi-purpose center open to the public for art activities for all ages, located at 1313 Newell Road in Palo Alto, California. It is managed by the City of Palo Alto, California and supported by the non-profit Pal ...

, Palo Alto, California * July 1982 – ''Theodore Odza Sculpture'', Douglas Elliott gallery, San Francisco, California

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odza, Theodore 1915 births 1998 deaths Artists from New York City People from Inverness, California Artists from Berkeley, California University of California, Berkeley faculty American people of Ukrainian descent Abstract expressionist artists University of California, Berkeley alumni Laney College faculty