Edward Dutkiewicz (1 April 1961 – 9 December 2007) was a British visual artist known for his use of bright colours and abstract forms, reminiscent of Calder and Matisse.

Life and work

Dutkiewicz was born of wartime Polish immigrant parents in Tamworth, Staffordshire on 1 April 1961. Dutkiewicz was a self-taught artist, between 1986 and 1994 producing wall paintings and murals for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. He had two solo shows at

Flowers East A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

gallery in Hackney. Later he exhibited in Paris, Cologne, Stockholm and San Francisco. Though remaining relatively unknown he was a "serious" artist, producing expressionistic paintings and abstract sculptures. He received a number of commissions for his work, from the architect Piers Gough who placed one of his polished steel sculptures at

Camden Lock Camden Lock is a small part of Camden Town, London Borough of Camden, England, which was formerly a wharf with stables on the Regent's Canal. It is immediately to the north of Hampstead Road Locks, a twin manually operated lock. The twin locks ...

and from the Estorick Collection in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

for a female portrait to be placed in their garden. Several works were installed at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Dutkiewicz sold several of his collages via the Paintings in Hospitals charity. Dutkiewicz fought a battle with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, which he was diagnosed with aged 21. By the age of 40 was no longer able to exhibit. For the last six months he was unable to use his hands at all and contemplated suicide. He died in London on 9 December 2007. In an obituary of Dutkiewicz, the collector Michael Estorick concluded that "if there are echoes of Alexander Calder and Matisse in his use of bright colour and abstract form, it is also of their playfulness and joy. For sure, no one who has experienced so much pain has also expressed as much fun and the pleasure of simply being alive, or, for that matter, has given so much to those around him."

References

ArtFacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutkiewicz, Edward 1961 births 2007 deaths People from Tamworth, Staffordshire 20th-century British painters British male painters 21st-century British painters British people of Polish descent Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from multiple sclerosis People with multiple sclerosis 20th-century British sculptors British male sculptors 20th-century British male artists 21st-century British male artists British artists with disabilities