To Have and to Hold by Danuta Solowiej

My relationship with medals is long, but not well-documented and like any relationship it has been through its ups and downs, nevertheless we are still together, the medal and me, hence the tongue in cheek title pinched from the wedding vows, but there is another reason for that too which I’ll explain in my talk.  And in the spirit of the wedding vows, I’ll be sharing ‘something old’ and ‘something new’ to illustrate my meandering journey in the medallic field, from the east to the west, and a brief touch upon terra incognita.

Danuta Solowiej was born in Białystok, Poland. Her art education started with tapestry and painting at the Fine Arts Lyceum.  In 1987 she graduated with a Masters in sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw.  She came to London on the eve of 1988 and was an inaugural student of a contemporary medal course at the Royal College of Art, where she was later a visiting lecturer.  She works in several media and her focus on the tactile aspects of sculpture is reflected in the hand-held scale of her work.  Over the years, she has received a number of awards and commissions, many of which are represented in national and private collections worldwide.  In 2023 she received the Marsh Award for the Encouragement of Medallic Art.  She is a member of British Art Medal Society and a freeman of the Goldsmiths’ Company.