Michael Harrison Rudd

Michael Harrison Rudd studied BA Fine Art at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Now lives and works in London.

My work has focused greatly on the Town in which I was born, Harlow Essex. This has been a place of intrigue because of the unique architectural ideas of town planning in the late 50’s early 60’s. This was a place that was believed to bring a new way of living. With the speed of modern transportation came intersecting motorways. Tower blocks were devised as the new vision of community for social housing. The Town’s planner, Frederick Gibberd gave ideals of art in the community to bring people together – New Cul de Sacs and Estates drew sculptural works by the likes of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. These sculptures now lay largely forgotten and Frederick’s dream lay dormant and much in a way lost. I wanted to recapture the beauty of Frederick’s optimistic vision of Harlow New Town as the new Utopia alongside the people who live there today. This is Sculpture Town.