Melrose Studios is a vibrant working studio facility producing original commissioned sculpture and paintings, and marketing limited edition artworks.

Behind an apparently normal domestic façade in Putney lie a fascinating house and a rare and exciting working sculpture studio. Originally constructed in the Victorian era, it was radically converted in the 1960’s by renowned Spanish sculptor Jo Alberdi. The resulting architecture is a strangely happy blend of traditional Victorian and artfully cast 1960s concrete, stained glass and reclaimed wrought iron.

There are two studios on the property, a large open plan indoor ‘clean’ studio and a massive purpose-designed detached sculpture studio in the garden, designed by the acclaimed modernist architect Sir Basil Spence, who is more commonly associated with buildings such as Coventry Cathedral. For several decades it was considered in the profession to be the largest and best private studio built in London since the war.  Covering a huge 36 x 34 feet at its base, the main studio soars to over 18 feet high, providing all round light and a unique space for the creation of large artworks. Served by an industrial strength access route, it is geared to handle anything from small sculptural works to the production of large, almost industrial pieces.

In 1976, the house was taken over by sculptor Michael Rizzello, who continued to create sculptures in the studio until his death in 2004. The facility has an almost unbroken artistic heritage of almost 45 years - broken only by a short hiatus during which the studio was slightly ignominiously reborn as an underpants warehouse!