John Edwards, considered by many to be one of Britain's leading abstract artists during the late 1960s and 1970s, weathered a fallow period of interest in his work on the London art scene in the middle years of his career by moving to India where he explored new ideas, and influences, and exhibited regularly to a local market that engaged enthusiastically with his paintings and sculpture. Born in London in 1938, Edwards's studies led him from Hornsey College of Art, London to Leeds, then on to Brussels and the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels. From 1964, he took up a series of teaching posts, lecturing at the Chelsea Schools of Art, and the School of Visual Art in New York.
In 1980, he was appointed head of the painting department at St Martin's School of Art, in London, and later also, of the sculpture department. It was a thrilling time to be at this prestigious crucible of art and design in the heart of the city and Edwards was valued highly for his no-nonsense approach and acute eye for emerging talent. When he retired from teaching, he applied himself industriously to pursuing his own talent, exhibiting in London, Europe and Japan, and at several American galleries. His works are included in many public collections, including New York's Guggenheim Museum and the Arts Council of Great Britain.
His paintings, vibrant and vital, adhered to no particular movement, although Edwards was undoubtedly influenced by the abstract expressionism in vogue in New York in the early 1950s, whose notable practitioners included Paul Klee and Mark Rothko. This lack of easy classification aided, perhaps, his international appeal. The four years that Edwards lived and worked in India offered welcome respite from the pressured London art scene and afforded plentiful opportunities to experiment with his painting style. His later works reflected the colourful palette of Jaipur life and communicate something of its dynamic energy. He showed frequently in New Delhi and returned to London in 2008 reinvigorated by his experience abroad.
Edwards married twice and divorced twice. He is survived by the two daughters of his first marriage, Aphra and Chloe. He was born on March 3, 1938, he died on August 22. * The National