Sculptor Julio Alberdi was a founding artist in Chatham’s first Open Studio Tour in 1993. In the intervening years, Alberdi served as VP of a construction company building high-end residential and commercial properties around the area. During the entire time, he worked in his studio in the home in Chatham County that he built himself, creating emotive sculptural art. In 2018 he retired to sculpt full time.
Julio has carried on a prestigious art tradition. His father Joxe Alberdi was an internationally recognized sculptor, executing commissioned works in England and Europe. “I made my first sculpture at the age of six in my father’s studio,” he recalls. “I still have the little profile right here.” Julio apprenticed for his father and collaborated with him on major abstract sculptures.
When Julio was 21 he traveled from the family home in London to North Carolina, where he worked for a time with a friend who designed furniture in Apex. It was here that he met his future wife, Lee. They moved to Spain to work for his father creating two large commissioned pieces which are now in Mallorca. Julio and Lee were married in the small town of Jesus Pobre. After two years they returned to Chatham County, eventually moving to Santa Fe where Julio received two art grants. While there Julio had multiple exhibitions in various galleries including the prestigious Shidoni Foundry. The Alberdis always missed Chatham County and moved back to North Carolina permanently in 1979.
“My work evolves from themes in history, literature or music that inspire me,” he explains. “They are abstracted from Chatham County wood that I have aged for over 10 years.” In many, Julio has enhanced the wood with additional materials such as metals and rock. “I have a favorite stone from Waco Texas that contains fossilized seashells,” he notes. “They bring the sculptures to life.” His large-scale pieces are characterized by unique multilayers of Tung oil finishes, continuing his father’s legacy and employing his father’s own tools.
Alberdi’s sculptures have been shown in The Imperial Art Center in Rocky Mount and at Gallery 311 in Raleigh. Learn more about Julio by visiting his Chatham Artists Guild gallery page.
