Dr. Andor Paposi-Jobb Featured at the Red Brick Gallery
Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts proudly presents a retrospective of acclaimed painter, teacher, judo instructor and international judo champion, Dr. Andor Paposi-Jobb in the Red Brick Gallery’s (RBG) Upstairs Gallery weekends from Friday, August 18 through Sunday, September 24. Weekend RBG hours are Fridays, 1-6 PM; Saturdays, 11 AM to 7 PM; and Sundays, 12 noon to 5 PM at RBG, 17 Main Street, Foxburg, PA 16036.
Meet the Artist at the Exhibit Opening on Sunday, August 20, from 2:30 PM to 5 PM, a “Music and Art” wine and cheese reception, featuring cello and guitar music by Hallam and Delaney.
ARCA is honored to pay tribute to “Andor”, a much beloved founder and former board member. During the renovation of Lincoln Hall, Andor restored the beautiful stage-backdrop in Lincoln Hall, which was in near ruins when discovered rolled up and abandoned.
Andor generously donated two portraits which adorn Lincoln Hall: A portrait of ARCA’s founders Dr. Arthur and the late Patricia Steffee and one of Paul McKissick, past owner/restorer of Lincoln Hall’s McKissick Mighty Wurlitzer (which theatre organ was later purchased by Dr. Steffee for Lincoln Hall).
According to Jason Lewis, Red Brick Gallery’s Artistic Director who is curating the exhibit, the show will feature twenty-five original artworks, spanning Andor’s career from the time he was a student at Kent State, up to the present. It will include works from several different media and genres, showcasing his artistic development and versatility.
Jason Lewis described the rich experience of curating this show as a tribute to this very special artist and teacher. ”It has been a privilege to work with Andor and Jae in preparing this exhibit. Previously only having a passing knowledge of Andor and his work, I was captivated by the story of his life, what he overcame and what he has accomplished. I was fascinated by the artwork he created as a college student, at a time when he was missing his home and worrying about his mother. I was thrilled to find that such a variety of works, spanning his career, were available for the exhibit. It is inspiring to see the dedication that he has shown in developing his own craft, but beyond that, his commitment to helping others is truly amazing. I can’t imagine how many lives he has touched as a mentor in art and in judo and with his life. I know he has inspired me.”
This retrospective also celebrates Andor’s commitment and inspiration to his art students – while at Clarion PennWest University during his twenty-eight-year tenure there and in his private teaching to this day. To represent his lifelong dedication to teaching others, on display will be paintings from four of Andor’s private students –Sherry Dreher and the late Patricia Russell from Emlenton, Donna Kandor from Perry Township, the late Ray W. Forquer and Richard Mitchell, a former judo and Clarion University student, now living in Cortland, NY.
One of Andor’s most renowned students is the late Ray W. Forquer, world famous for his landscapes depicting American Revolution scenes. A Forquer watercolor from Andor’s private collection will be in the exhibit. During Ray’s first summer art class, Andor would sit on a stool behind Ray as he painted and swat him on the shoulder with a yardstick when he mixed the colors ‘wrong’!
Andor Paposi-Jobb is a world judo champion and 8th Degree Dan, involved with judo and jiujitsu since 1952 as a perennial State, National, European and International Champion in judo. Andor founded his HUN JUDO DOJO at Clarion University in 1963, now the second oldest dojo in the USA under continuous operation by the founding sensei. He also was among the original founders of The World Master Athlete Judo Association.
As a capstone to six weeks of European travel this summer with his wife Jae Ann Brown, on August 4, 2023, in Budapest, Hungary at the “Gala for the 2023 WORLD JUDO MASTERS”, Andor received his greatest judo accolade when he was inducted into The International Judo Federation’s Hall of Fame by IJF President Marius Vizer.
As a tribute to Andor’s storied judo accomplishments, his RBG show will exhibit the medals Andor won in Judo. Available for sale will be the fourth printing of a full color book, THE JUDO GREATS, with reproductions of the series of portraits and biographies of the Judo champions whom Andor has painted.
Andor’s Judo Greats portrait of SHIHAN KEIKO FUKUDA - oil on canvas, 36" x 48" - was unveiled and presented to SHIHAN FUKUDA on the occasion of the 2005 WMJA Championships in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. In 2022, Shihan Fukuda’s portrait was accessioned by The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.
The show also will exhibit a series of three-dimensional stringed puzzles he created during the Covid era, constructed from found objects. Based on an ancient Japanese trope, he refers to these as ‘The Covid Series’.
Andor Jobb de Papos was born on November 2nd, 1934, in the Village of Papos in Hungary. A few years later the family moved to Budapest to seek medical attention for his father, who, after a prolonged hospitalization, succumbed to a bronchial condition.
At an early age Andor recognized that he had an aptitude for drawing. Once he was in grade school his talent was quickly recognized. From the beginning, Andor was encouraged by his widowed mother who obtained private instruction for him, at age twelve, with the prominent Budapest painter Rudolph Lukics in exchange for her house cleaning services. By 1954, Andor passed the highly competitive exams to secure a place to study at the prestigious Budapest Applied Art Academy.
Two years later, in 1956, Andor took part - with many of his fellow students - in The Hungarian Freedom Fight. When his country’s quest for freedom and the Revolution failed, Andor was forced to flee Hungary during his third year at the Academy. He escaped over the border by hiking into Austria and immigrated to the United States.
Along with other refugee university students, he was first sent to Bard College to study English and undergo evaluation there. In recognition of his abilities, he received a full scholarship to Kent State University in Ohio where Andor received his BFA in 1960 and the MA in 1962.
In 1963, Andor joined the faculty of the Clarion University of Pennsylvania as Professor of the Fine Arts Department until his retirement in 1991. From 1991-93, he was a Professor of Fine Arts at the Miskolc University in Hungary, and after returning to the USA continued his career as a professional artist. Andor continues to teach painting on a private basis in his hometown of Emlenton, Pennsylvania.
Since moving to Emlenton in 1999, Andor has completed many portraits that are on display in the area including Founders and Presidents of Farmers Bank. ARCA is grateful to The Farmers Bank for lending to the RBG exhibit Andor’s portrait of Harry Jennings Crawford, oilman, businessman, philanthropist and for nineteen years, President of the bank.
Several other portraits can be seen at West Penn University Clarion including Dean James D. Moore, on display in Moore Hall; Dr. Edward James Keeling on display in The Keeling Health Center; and Andor’s portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, selected as the centerpiece of the University’s Diversity Center, on display in Gemmel Student Center.
Andor lives with his wife, Jae Brown, in Emlenton, Pennsylvania.