Inspired by London’s urban life and the music of the West Indies, Denzil Forrester’s work from the 1980s captures the vibrant East End nightlife with dynamic colour and movement. His 1982 painting Three Wicked Men was partly inspired by the death of his friend Winston Rose, who died in a police van after being detained under the Mental Health Act.
Born in Grenada in 1956, Denzil 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, Forrester won the Rome Scholarship in 1983, followed by the Harkness Scholarship which took him to New York for eighteen months.
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. Forrester now lives and works in Cornwall.
