Zenos Frudakis, a resident of Glenside and a renowned sculptor who has earned the nickname “The Monument Man”, was profiled by The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Academy of Fine Art program, Frudakis established his long-term residence and studio (Frudakis Studio Inc.) at 2355 Mount Carmel Avenue in the late 1980s. He continues to live and work there today.
He has created bronze statues for The United States Air Force Memorial Honor Guard, and of historical figures such as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John D. MacArthur, Dame Lois Browne-Evans, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill, as well as contemporary figures like Sandy Tatum, Michael Kahn and Jack Nicklaus.
An excerpt from The Inquirer’s profile:
Frudakis told me he’s juggling a dozen commissions right now, including two full-size replicas of his Freedom sculpture — destined for where, he won’t say, but he promises it’s exciting. He often works until 2 a.m. in his studio with his cat, Mr. Gray, and hopes that sculpting will lengthen his life. After all, his older half brother — noted sculptor EvAngelos Frudakis, who made The Signer statue at Fifth and Chestnut Streets — lived to be 97 and sculpted right up to the end.
For three hours, Frudakis and I talked about his childhood growing up in a Greek family in Gary, Ind., where his first sculptures were made with his mother’s bread dough; about his move to Philly in 1972 on a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and about his commitment to reading because, if Leonardo da Vinci spent time studying every day, he figured he should, too.
The story notes that Frudakis was commissioned to create a full-body sculpture of the late Frank Rizzo in the late 1990s, described by The Inquirer as “a polarizing figure as police commissioner (1967-1971) and mayor (1972-1980)”.
Rizzo passed away in 1991. Frudakis’ sculpture of him was unveiled in 1999 on the steps of the Municipal Services Building, then was removed following the protests and riots of 2020, The Inquirer said. Frudakis said he would have preferred that a piece of contrasting politics be placed by his sculpture’s side “to promote education and dialogue”.
“If you take it down, they’re not gonna learn anything. People who love him will still love him. People who hate him will still hate him,” he told The Inquirer.
In 2024, Frudakis’ “Freedom” sculpture was installed the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School and it has since been cited as one of the most fascinating sculptures in the world by Architectural Digest.
You can watch a video of Frudakis and the sculpture below:
In May 2024, Frudakis contributed four sculptures—a buck, fawn, doe, and jaguar—to the Norristown-based Elmwood Park Zoo. One year later, Frudakis unveiled his 10-foot bronze sculpture of Muhammad Ali at the Laran Bronze Foundry in Chester.
For more on the Glenside sculptor, you can visit his website. You can also check out his latest works in the video below:
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Photos: Frudakis Studio, Inc., Wikipedia