Robert H. Hudson (born September 8, 1938 – June 14, 2024) was an American visual artist. He is known for his funk art assemblage of metal sculptures, but he has also worked in painting and printmaking. Hudson lives and works in Cotati, Sonoma County, California.

Early life and education

Robert Hudson was born in 1938 in Salt Lake City, Utah and he grew up in Richland, Washington. At a young age he became interested in making art. Hudson moved to San Francisco, California, in 1957 to attend College. He received a B.F.A degree in 1961 and an M.F.A. degree in 1963, both from the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute or SFAI). Hudson was a classmate of William T. Wiley. Hudson studied under Nathan Oliveira, Frank Lobdell, Elmer Bischoff, Jeremy Anderson, Gurdon Woods, and Frank Hamilton.

Career

Hudson is known for his funk art assemblages, from the late 1950s and 1960s. He has also produced non-objective paintings, ceramics and large steel and bronze sculptures. His first solo exhibition was in 1961 at the Richmond Art Center, while he was still in graduate school. In 2010, Hudson created a 16-story tall mural made of polychromatic enameled steel panels for One Hawthorne, a condominium building in San Francisco.

Personal life

He was married in 1962 to artist, whom he met at SFAI. Through his marriage to Schultz, they had two sons, and it eventually ended in divorce. His son Case Hudson (born 1968) is a master printmaker and has worked at Crown Point Press, and Gemini G.E.L. Hudson's second marriage was to author Mavis Jukes in 1977, and they have two daughters together. Hudson died on June 14, 2024, at the age of 85.

Public collections

Several public museum collections hold work by Hudson, they are: