Born in Edinburgh in 1953 to Polish parents, Henry Kondracki RSA grew up under the influence of the American movies and cartoons that he would see in the cinemas around the city each week. Leaving school at 15, he taught himself to draw and had his first exhibition at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, when he was 17. In 1981 he went to London to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art before being accepted to the Slade School of Art where his tutors included Paula Rego and Bruce Mclean. Influenced by the resurgence of figurative painting in London at the time, Kondracki excelled at the Slade, winning a host of awards and exhibiting in the city for 10 years before returning to Edinburgh in the late 80s. Kondracki’s paintings are synonymous with Edinburgh, combining observed experience with memories of his childhood in the city. Kondracki was elected a Royal Scottish Academician in 2016.
Henry Kondracki RSA: Ultimately, making any kind of statement about my work is difficult, for my work is a process of discovery, my aim to venture into uncharted territory; to set out a plan for my journey would ruin the adventure. Back in 1992 I said that ‘I build images that are a synthesis of thought, memory, emotion, fact and fiction’ and twenty years on I still try and adhere to this. So others are probably better than me at capturing some of my aims throughout my career and summing up my work generally.
