Ron Hitchins

Brutalist Relief Wall Sculpture

c. 1960s-70s

Ron Hitchins (1926 – 2019) was a British born artist, sculptor, and flamenco dancer with a life-long connection to Hackney, London. He was born to a Lithuanian sex worker working in a Soho opium den, and a Chinese father. Inspired by the work of Picasso, Bancusi, Ernst and Hepworth, he dedicated his life to experimenting and mastering multi-media artforms. His own home served as a spectacular gallery for his life’s work, with tens of thousands of unique handmade terracotta tiles, fibreglass relief sculptures and imaginative furnishings. Ron Hitchins' house can be viewed on the website set up by the artist's estate. His tools were simple, comprising knives, paperclips and even a Biro tube, and he often worked naked due to the heat from the kiln, earning himself the nickname ‘The Naked Sculptor’. Although many motifs were repeated, each tile – astonishingly – is unique in precise design and composition. Ron Hitchins’ work has become increasingly sought after in recent years and has been purchased by major collections such as the V&A, sold at Christie's and Bonham's and has featured on the Antiques Roadshow.