Des Lawrence was born in Wiltshire, England in 1970. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art and Goldsmiths College in London. Des Lawrence’s practice includes painting, drawing, text and installation. The principal theme of his work is derived from current newspaper obituaries. The artworks are tributes and memorials to the recently deceased, which the artist refers to as a form of "history painting". Many of Lawrence's works are created in his signature, meticulous process in which he draws and cuts his own stencils, and then uses spray paints over the many individual layers of stencils to create the final work. Lawrence was awarded the Abbey Scholarship at the British School in Rome in 2005. Today, the artist lives and works in London, along with his wife, the artist Lucy Williams.
