Walenty Pytel

Walenty Pytel
The Diamond Jubilee sculpture (detail) in Rosebank Gardens, Great Malvern
Born	1941 Poland
Known for	Sculpture

Walenty Pytel is a Polish-born contemporary artist based in the United Kingdom, recognised as a leading metal sculptor of birds and beasts.

Pytel came to England at the age of five and later studied graphic design at Hereford College of Arts. He opened two studios in Hereford 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, Westminster, a piece titled Take Off which is located at Birmingham Airport and Europe’s largest (in 1979) metalwork sculpture, The Fossor, at the headquarters of J. C. Bamford in Rocester, Staffordshire.

The Fossor, which takes its name from the Latin for "digger" is the most significant of the sculptures around the JCB site at Rocester. 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 1.4 m (4.6 ft) 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, Herefordshire including two prominently displayed on the banks of the River Wye.

He created Ludlow's first out-of-church public war memorial, commissioned by the local Royal British Legion 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".