Walenty Pytel
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Walenty Pytel (1941- ) is a Polish-born
contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
ist based in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, recognised as a leading metal sculptor of birds and beasts.


Life

Pytel was born in German-occupied Poland during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Because of his blond features the Nazi authorities kidnapped him from his mother Jadwiga Pytel and had him adopted by a
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
officer and his childless wife. (See
Lebensborn Lebensborn e.V. (literally: "Fount of Life") was an SS-initiated, state-supported, registered association in Nazi Germany with the stated goal of increasing the number of children born who met the Nazi standards of "racially pure" and "healt ...
.) However his mother, who had escaped from a prison camp, snatched him from outside the couple's home and fled Poland with him to Italy.Report by Tony Neal. Pytel came to England at the age of five and later studied
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
at
Hereford College of Arts Hereford College of Arts is an art school based in the West Midlands, UK, and is the only specialist college in the region dedicated to the Arts. Description It offers courses in both further and higher education fields, in Art & Design, Music ...
. He opened two studios in
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
in 1963, initially focusing on paper sculptures for window displays but turned to metal two years later. His creations are often inspired by nature and his artworks include the Jubilee Fountain in
New Palace Yard New Palace Yard is a yard (area of grounds) northwest of the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England. It is part of the grounds not open to the public. However, it can be viewed from the two adjoining streets, as a result of Edward ...
,
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, a piece titled ''Take Off'' which is located at
Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...
and Europe's largest (in 1979) metalwork sculpture, ''The Fossor'', at the headquarters of JCB in
Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Uttoxet ...
, Staffordshire.''Public Sculpture of Staffordshire and the Black Country'', George T. Noszlopy and Fiona Waterhouse, 2005,


Works

His first public commission came in 1965. Hereford City Council paid £100 for Christmas decorations. 400 thin metal angels were erected in the city. In the wind they came loose and caused some damage to windows. The work has been lost. ''The Fossor'', which takes its name from the Latin for "digger" is the most significant of the sculptures around the JCB site at
Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Uttoxet ...
. The piece is made entirely of digger parts and is a powerful representation of JCB. It weighs 36 tonnes, stands 45 feet high and was the largest steel sculpture in Europe at the time of its creation in 1979. ''Take Off'' was erected at Birmingham Airport in 1985 and stands in a roundabout on the approach road to the airport. It is tall. The unpolished steel sculpture of three egrets was designed to commemorate forty years of peace in Europe. Pytel has created a number of sculptures for the town of
Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...
, Herefordshire including two prominently displayed on the banks of the
River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...
. He created
Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...
's first out-of-church public war memorial, commissioned by the local
Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...
branch and unveiled in 2000. Some 5 metres high, situated in Ludlow Square, it consists of a cross with squat upper arms, with two doves of peace rising from near its top. In relief the front bears a sword overlying a wreath with the motto "Lest we forget" and a small plaque whose inscription concludes, "at the end of a millennium of conflict, looks forward to a millennium of peace". In 2001 Pytel completed a sculpture of a
magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...
for the village of
Weobley Weobley ( ) is an ancient settlement and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white villages owing to its abundance of ...
in Herefordshire (a magpie is the village's emblem). The sculpture was commissioned after the village won the
Calor Gas Calor is a brand of bottled butane and propane which is available in Britain and Ireland. It comes in cylinders, which have a special gas regulator. The company was formed in 1935, and is one of the UK's largest suppliers of liquefied petrol ...
/''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' Great Britain Village of the Year in 1999. In 2002, he made a memorial to
Colin Grazier Colin Grazier, GC (7 May 1920 – 30 October 1942) was a sailor in the Royal Navy who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the "outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" which he displayed on 30 October 1 ...
and others, which stands in Tamworth. In 2005 Pytel was commissioned to create four huge steel eagles for Portuguese club Benfica, which would be displayed at their
Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...
. Measuring from wingtip to wingtip each bird had its own specially built column at each corner of the stadium. In December 2008 the ''
Hereford Times The ''Hereford Times'' is a weekly tabloid newspaper published every Thursday in Hereford, England. Its offices are based in Holmer Road. The editor is John Wilson. The newspaper covers events across the county of Herefordshire as well as some ...
'' reported that Pytel would design a sculpture for the
Royal National College for the Blind The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged 16 to 25 and blind or partially sighted. ...
in
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
which he would create using an original drawing produced by a student at the college. At the time he was seeking inspiration to restart his career following a fall in 2006 which had resulted in a
loss of memory Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...
. The piece, depicting a man running in the
Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...
style and titled the ''4Runner'' was unveiled in September 2009 and stands on a plinth outside the entrance of the college's sports and leisure complex. A sculpture by Pytel of two buzzards, which he has said will be his last major art-work, was installed in Rosebank Gardens,
Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and is ...
in November 2012. An exhibition of Pytel's work, ''Sparks to Life'', was held at
Nature in Art Nature in Art is a museum and art gallery at Wallsworth Hall, Twigworth, Gloucester, England, dedicated exclusively to art inspired by nature in all forms, styles and media. The museum has twice been specially commended in the National Heritage ...
,
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, in early 2020.


Personal life

Pytel married a fellow art college student. They had two children together but although they later divorced they continued to live together near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.


References


External links


Sculpture by Walenty Pytel


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pytel, Walenty Living people Polish sculptors Polish male sculptors 20th-century sculptors 21st-century sculptors Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom 1941 births