According Craft Revolution, Joe Nyiri “moved to San Diego in 1962 after studying with sculptors Leo Steppat, Arthur Vierthaler and Earl Krentzin at the University of Wisconsin. He was an art supervisor and teacher-consultant for the San Diego Unified School District, and though he rarely made functional objects, he was an active member of the Allied Craftsmen of San Diego since 1963.
Nyiri’s sculptures, of welded and forged steel, were exhibited at Orr’s Gallery one of San Diego’s premier galleries for contemporary art and craft. “Owner Dan Jacobs let Nyiri set up a workshop at Orr’s, where the sparks flew until Jacobs’s brother, a fire chief, finally objected. After that, Nyiri shared part of Jack Boyd’s studio. Works of “steel and iron, preferably brazed with copper or brass” were exhibited in Nyiri’s first one-person show in the area at San Diego State College in December 1962.”
In 1964, critic Dr. Armin Kietzmann called sculptors Joe Nyiri, James Hubbell and Ruth and Toza Radakovich “The Four ‘Organics” but said that “...within that general concept, each goes an individual way.” Nyiri lectured for the Fine Arts Gallery and for many years taught children’s art classes at the San Diego Zoo.
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