In a brick building tucked within Pittsburgh, PA you’ll find Barbara Luderowski and Michael Olijnyk. She, a sculptor unlimited by scale, and he, a curator whose mind is a vast archive. Together, they are the forces behind a building and a movement, and their loft will inspire you to return to the tangible. They co-direct […]

In a brick building tucked within Pittsburgh, PA you’ll find Barbara Luderowski and Michael Olijnyk. She, a sculptor unlimited by scale, and he, a curator whose mind is a vast archive. Together, they are the forces behind a building and a movement, and their loft will inspire you to return to the tangible. They co-direct Pittsburgh?s Mattress Factory, a contemporary art museum celebrating its 40th year. The museum is an internationally recognized leader in site-specific, contemporary works, but it also happens to be their home. Both the museum and the loft were born of Barbara?s incredible power to see opportunity where others saw condemned spaces. Barbara founded the now highly regarded museum in what was once an actual mattress factory, and Michael, feeling the energy of the space, joined her movement shortly after and would become the head curator. Barbara recalls, ?The intention I had at the time [in the late 70s], as best as I can reconstruct it, was to create my own environment. In those days, there was a place called the King Pitcher Gallery on Craig Street, which was handling my work. There, I met artists at various meetings an...