Romulo Chanduvi
Romulo Chanduvi came to the United States from Peru in 1992, and established a successful woodworking and furniture restoration business in East Hartford, Connecticut after receving his green card as an "artist of exceptional merit." His clients include several high-profile collectors in the Northeast, one of whom commissioned him to build custom cases for the Sullivan Collection of 18th-century porcelain at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chanduvi also creates traditional woodcarvings in the Spanish/Inca style.
He began learning the art of woodcarving and fine furniture-making at the age of twelve, growing up in Lima, Peru. He absorbed the techniques and styles of carving passed down in his family's carpentry shop for generations and served apprenticeships in workshops in Argentina and Switzerland. Chanduvi began his professional career teaching furniture-making in the AID Program of the United Nations, helping soldiers acquire a trade after their military service. He continued advanced training with master woodworkers, learning to work with tropical woods while practicing his artistic skills in Panama.
Chanduvi's Charles Street workshop walls are covered with carefully-arranged tools, vises, drills, and hundreds of chisels that he has modified for use in hand-carving intricate details as well as to fashion exotic woods into extraordinary pieces of furniture. Each peice is built with authentic joining techniques of the appropriate period and is finished with all-natural stains, resins, bee waxes, shellacs, and varnishes.
Chanduvi has been featured in several important presentations including the Institute for Community Research touring exhibit "Living Legends: Connecticut Master Tradtional Artists," the Wadsworth Atheneum's installation of "Faith and Fortune: Five Centuries of European Masterworks," the 2016 Connecticut Office of the Arts/Connecticut Historical Society exhibit, "Connecticut Traditional Artists and Their Communities," and in a feature article in "Home Living Connecticut" magazine. Chanduvi's son, Jonathan, carries on the family tradition in restoration through his own New York City studio.
He has been associated with the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) since 1993.
Biography written by Lynne Williamson, former director of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program.
