Selected as Holladay Artist of the Month by the Holladay Arts Council, Thomas Kolonusz-Partee has continually produced art in many different capacities and mediums.  For over 30 years, he has designed and manufactured metal lighting fixtures, furniture, hardware, and sculpture for residential and commercial venues. His current art interest is in the area of drypoint an intaglio printmaking process.

Thomas Kolonusz-Partee has been selected as September’s Holladay Artist of the Month. (Photo courtesy Thomas Kolonusz-Partee)

 \According to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York, the drypoint intaglio printmaking technique creates sharp lines with fuzzy, velvety edges, in contrast to engraving, which produces a cleaner, more precise line. For two decades, Kolonusz-Partee created in volume before deciding to explore the artistic world of printmaking.

“Currently, I am changing from sculptural media, brass/copper metalsmith, to a printmaker, specifically drypoint, intaglio," Kolounsz-Partee said. "When it was more popular in the 1990s to 2010, I restored 19th-century lighting fixtures from France, Germany, England, and the US. A lot of the work was electrifying fixtures and restoring one-of-a-kind crystals to their brilliance. As an architect, I have designed homes, garages, Americans with Disabilities facilities, and additions for clients. 

Kolonusz-Partee was born in Budapest, Hungary, and has lived coast to coast in the United States.

“Since I left Budapest when I was about 12 years old, I have called home Akron, Ohio, Oakland, California, San Francisco, California, New York, New York, and now happily, Holladay, Utah,” said Kolonusz-Partee. “The change of scenery made me appreciate the different cultures and values we all hold.”

For over 30 years, Kolonusz-Partee has designed and manufactured metal lighting fixtures, furniture, hardware, and sculpture for residential and commercial venues. (Photo courtesy Thomas Kolonusz-Partee)

From a young age, Kolonusz-Partee felt a natural call to art. After high school, he attended the California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, where he studied sculpture and metal arts. He then started his fabrication shop, specializing in lighting/furniture engineering, design, and restoration for 18th and 19th century lighting. As he progressed in his college art studies, he attended classes from various colleges as needed for his trade and academic requirements. 

In 2003, Kolonusz-Partee earned a degree in Architecture from the College of Arts in San Francisco. He worked with many respected architects on projects that included residential renovations, public art, and experimental architecture. In 2012, he opened a new custom metal fabrication shop/studio with an emphasis on sculpture that he started in California and then moved to Holladay.

Kolonusz-Partee has created notable projects for museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco and the Café Lights at the de Young Museum of Fine Art.  He has worked for well-known individuals such as the late actor Robin Williams and also Michael McEwen, whose Berkeley studio is in high demand among the architectural and interior design communities.

Whether in sculpture media or printmaking, Kolonusz-Partee brings his artistic talent and skill in bridging the gap between abstract beauty and functionality. He points out that in many of his creative pieces, his work is often utilitarian. “There is art in design, even in art that is considered utilitarian.”