FIRST PERSON
Brushstrokes of Genius
18
ALL IN THE FAMILY
I worked for architects in high school, and
started college planning to become one. I think
that there was too much math for me, so I
switched out to study art history and studio art.
And because my mother and her grandfather
were artists, my mom wasn’t shocked or scared;
her thought was “Yeah, you can do this.” So my
art studies took me to the University of
Maryland and Parsons School of Design. I moved
to New York City, and just opened my own business with $150. There was nowhere to go but up.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Visual design is my whole world. I look at different rooms, different spaces, and I am constantly thinking of how I can make them better.
You can walk into the darkest room, but if you go
in with that feeling, you can make it really, really
cool. Just because a room is dark doesn’t mean
you have to brighten it up; my mission is to just
take the environment and enhance it.
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2016
NEW LIFE FOR OLD ICONS
Some of the jockeys were solid iron, and they
weighed about 150 to 250 pounds each. So I
had them in my studio, rolling around for four
months, and it was quite the summer with all
the jockeys there. I did research on all the silks
for each jockey to make sure their colors were
correct, that their striping was correct. We
added [American Pharoah], the latest Triple
Crown winner.
AT HOME WITH THE ARTS
I think I know more artists and creative
people in the design field living here in
Montclair/Glen Ridge than I did during my
15 years in New York City. New York is a very
heads-down, you’re-going-where-you’re-going
kind of place, and here, it’s just so open and
lovely. We found such a great home here,
and I love it. ■
– AS TOLD TO ERIN ROLL
MAP MURAL PHOTO: LINDA PHILLIPS
A
ndrew
Tedesco is
perhaps
best
known for
the striking customized interiors
he creates with painted
inlaid floors, ceiling and
wall murals, and decorative paint finishes.
Recently, he added
another specialty to his
resume: restoring the
famous iron jockey statues
at New York’s ‘21’ Club.
Here, he talks about art,
the statues and life in
Glen Ridge: