Norman Dilworth (1931-2023) was an English artist, born in Wigan, Lancashire. His work is systematic, constructivist and concrete. It is mainly exhibited and appreciated in continental Europe, where it is held in many national collections.
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Biography
Norman Dilworth was born on 12 January 1931 in Wigan, Lancashire, where he attended Wigan Art School from 1949 to 1952.[3] From 1952 to 1956 he studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, where he won the Tonks Prize in 1955. The following year he was awarded the Drawing Prize by the Sunday Times[3] and a French Government scholarship to study in Paris from 1956 to 1957,[3] where he befriended Alberto Giacometti. His work at this time took the form of paintings and drawings in black and white, using geometric forms that played with the viewer's perception.[1]
During the fifties, Dilworth was an important figure in contemporary art, exhibiting in the Young Contemporaries Exhibitions in 1953, 1954 and 1955 and the John Moores Exhibition in 1959. Dilworth's work became associated with Kinetic art and in 1966 he took part in an exhibition alongside Bridget Riley and Michael Kidner at the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry.[1]
Since the 1960s, Dilworth had lived in England, teaching in several colleges. In 1971 the British Arts Council awarded him first prize for his sculpture entitled Haverfordwest. Later that year he decided to move to Amsterdam after a successful solo exhibition in The Hague. By now, his work had moved from Kinetic to Constructivist art.[1]
In 1973, Dilworth took part in 4 English Systematic Artists, the second group exhibition of the Systems Group. Although he chose not to become a member of the group, his work has a strong affinity with the group. In 1974 he won first prize for Fountain for Cardiff [3] by the Welsh Arts Council.[1]
Before 1982, Dilworth lived in London. After 1982 he lived in Amsterdam, moving to Lille in 2002.[3]
Dilworth was married in 1958 to Mary Webber. The marriage was dissolved in 1976. He remarried in 1982 to Christine Cadin. Dilworth died in Lille on 25 January 2023, leaving two daughters and a son from the first marriage, and two sons from the second.[4]
Tributes
The commune of Paris-Plage, which hosted the works of Dilworth, paid homage to him by laying a plaque, with the artist's signature and handprints, on the ground of the Garden of Arts.
Solo exhibitions
Redmark Gallery (London) 1968
Galerie Nouvelles Image (The Hague) 1970
Lucy Milton Gallery (London) 1973
Galleria Primo Peano (with Peter Lowe) (Rome) 1975
Art Affairs, Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1995
Durhammer Gallery, Frankfurt (Germany) 1995
Art Affairs, Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1997
Magnus Aklundh Gallery, Lund (Sweden) 1998
Contemporary art space, Demigny (France) 1998
Artist in residence, Guernsey (Channel Islands) 1999
Art Affairs, Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2000
Museum Het Mondriaanhuis, Amersfoort (Netherlands) 2001
Contemporary art space, Demigny (France) 2001
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2002
Het Glasen Huis, Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2003
Museum of Fine Arts and Lace, Calais (France) 2005
Espace Lumière, Hénin-Beaumont (France) 2005
Oniris Gallery, Rennes (France) 2006
Bouvet Ladubay Saumur Contemporary Art Center (France) 2006
Galerie Frontière$, Hellemmes (France) 2006
Sculpture / Art|Paris tour at the Grand-Palais, Oniris stand 2007 and 2008
Retrospective at the Matisse Museum / Cateau-Cambrésis 2007
Group exhibitions
1972: 4 Artists Galerie Nouvelle Image, The Hague
1973: 4 English Systematic Artists, Amsterdam
1974: British Painting '74, Hayward, London
1980: Pier + Ocean: construction in the art of the seventies, Hayward, London/Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo.[5]
