Modelling always held a very important place in Jonathan Kenworthy’s life. Born in Westmorland, England, in 1943, he was only eleven years old when he attended the Royal College of Art in London. A precocious and talented young artist, he later entered the Royal Academy Schools, where he was the youngest student ever to win the Gold Medal and Travelling Scholarship for Sculpture. The intense observation and study of the anatomy and movement being essential in Kenworthy’s work, the artist reinforced his knowledge at The Royal Veterinary College in London and the Department of Comparative Anatomy at Nairobi University.

However, the bodies that the artist represents, whether animal or human, are as expressive as they are accurate. Working in his studio in England, he translates into timeless objects his visions and emotions of fleeting moments observed during his trips. The artist had extensively travelled since the 1960s when he visited for the first time East Africa. From this part of the world, where he observed the wildlife, the ruthless play of life and death, and the animal’s gestures in a fight for survival, the artist found the drama and intensity necessary to serve his art.

In his bronzes, the artist captures the strength and the grace in the tension of the animals’ body about to leap or run. The irregular surface of his sculptures, which he creates with bold clay applications, gives the animal he depicts an incredible vitality.
Kenworthy’s work is collected worldwide and was featured in several exhibitions at key galleries, including the Pangolin London.