Denzil Forrester
Born in Grenada in 1956, Forrester came to England at the age of ten. After completing his BA at the Central School of Art and his MA at the Royal College, he won the Rome Scholarship in 1983, followed by the Harkness Scholarship which took him to New York for eighteen months.
Denzil Forrester’s work is rich, complex and highly sophisticated. The strength of his draftmanship and his extraordinary use of colour enable him to bring to his canvasses dynamic movement, and purposeful power. London’s urban life is his main source of inspiration. The video of this lecture can be viewed on YouTube.
In 1987 he received the Korn/Ferry International Award for work of exceptional merit of any category; ‘Carnival Dub’ at the Royal Academy Summer Show. In 1991 he was awarded a touring exhibition by the Harris Museum & Art gallery In 2000 he was awarded the Scottish Gallery, Dianna King Prize for a painting in any medium; ‘Bag Bag’ at the Royal Academy.
Denzil Forrester’s work is rich, complex and highly sophisticated. The strength of his draftmanship and his extraordinary use of colour enable him to bring to his canvasses dynamic movement, and purposeful power. London’s urban life is his main source of inspiration. The music which permeates his work comes from the West Indies; the range of iridescent colours into which he translates the music has been evoked by the light and colour of Italy. Forrester has been painting at his London based studio for the past 30 years. He is currently lecturing at Morley College.
The video of this lecture can be viewed on YouTube.