Richard Spare

Richard John Spare, (born 1951) is a British artist[2] known primarily for his drypoints, etchings and oil paintings. He is based in London.

Richard Spare
Richard Spare scrim-wiping the copper plate of his drypoint 'Poppy Spray' c.1999
Born
Richard John Spare

(1951-04-16) 16 April 1951
Chelmsford, Essex, England[1]
NationalityBritish
EducationMaidstone College of Art (1971–1974)
Known forPrintmaking, Painting & Sculpture
Websiterichardspare.art

Background

Spare attended Maidstone College of Art (1971–74) (now the University for the Creative Arts) where he studied painting under Fred Cuming. On leaving art college, Spare honed his technical skills at Thomas Ross & Son[3] of Putney (1974–77), where he was involved in printing George Stubbs prints, which were sold through the Tate Gallery, and the renovation of fine Turner aquatint plates, which were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Turner Bi-centenary Exhibition. Spare also printed original plates from masters including Hogarth, Cruikshank, Rowlandson, Gillray, Landseer and mezzotints by Martin.

A master printmaker, Spare has editioned work for many contemporary artists, including David Hockney, Robert Ryman, Francesco Clemente, Donald Sultan, Jim Dine and Keith Haring. In 1977 he worked with David Hockney as his assistant, setting up an etching studio for him and printing five editions from Hockney's 'The Blue Guitar' folio.[4][5] Being able to watch Hockney at work on his sets for the Glyndebourne 'Magic Flute' developed Spare's technical interests and appreciation of simple form.

In 1979 Spare participated in the printing of William Daniell's A Voyage Round Great Britain, topographical views of Great Britain, for the Tate Gallery. A posthumous edition of Ceri Richards' images followed 1979–81; sold in conjunction with the exhibition of his work at the Tate Gallery in 1981.

In the early eighties, Spare was involved in printing the 'Banks' Florilegium' (Egerton-Williams Studio), the largest restorative printmaking project of the twentieth century. The plates for the 743 engravings of plants, from watercolours by Sydney Parkinson were made during the first voyage of James Cook to Australia. Having been stored in the British Museum for 200 years, wrapped in a paper containing acid, they had become corroded. Meticulous restoration and demanding à la poupée printing ended with the Museum's Botanical Editor checking them for botanical correctness before they could be published.

In 1988 Spare worked in New York with Jasper Johns, proofing and editioning complex carborundum prints.

In 1989 the entirety of Keith Harring and William S. Burroughs' project 'The Valley' was printed by Spare in London. Published in 1990.

Independent work

Since the late 1980s Spare has concentrated solely on his own work, which derives from nature and travel. To date he has published more than 400 images. His characteristic hand printed and watercoloured original drypoints are admired for their pared down, and unique, view of the world – 'the joy of being'.[6] Colour is a crucial element to Spare's work, each being selected to 'vibrate with the velvet black of the drypoint line'. Spare's Wellington Studio garden in Charlton was designed as a rich source of inspiration. Focusing on wildlife it is a 'small haven' for the subjects of many of his works. Wellington studio is a 'homage' to the art of printmaking, with five restored antique etching presses, housed in a converted Victorian coach house.

Selected exhibitions

A frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Spare has exhibited 40 individual works there from 27 years as of the 2019 Academy Summer Show;[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] his work was first accepted in 1973.[7]

Spare has twice been an invited exhibitor at The Discerning Eye exhibition at the Mall Galleries.[34][35]

Spare also regularly exhibits his work internationally: One-man international shows include a series of annual exhibitions in cities throughout Japan, including Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, Sendai, Sapporo, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Kagoshima, Kawagoe, and Nara, which spanned 11 years. More recently, he has had one-man shows in Ballarat and Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.[6] He was Guest International Artist at the Toorak Village Art Affair, Melbourne 2012.[36]

One-man shows in the UK include The Craft Centre & Design Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery, Trevelyan College, University of Durham, Cambridge Gallery.

Notable mixed shows include 'The Art on paper Fair' at the Royal College of Art, The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers open exhibitions, 'The Originals', Society of Wildlife Artists and the Royal Society of British Artists Open exhibitions at the Mall Galleries, the Folkestone Metropole Galleries and the Whitechapel Open Exhibitions.

Collections

Richard Spare's work appears in numerous public and private collections worldwide,[37] including:

Publications
  • Cover illustration ('Snowdrop') for poetry publication: Iron String, A. Lighthart, Airlie Press, Oregon, USA. 1 October 2013. ISBN 098210667X
  • 'Rowing Boat I' reproduced to exemplify a drypoint in Etching – a guide to traditional techniques, A. Smith, The Crowood Press, 2004. ISBN 1861265972
  • Galerie d'Amour, J. Powls, Poetry@MMD, 1998. ISBN 0953478505 Illustrated by Richard Spare and Kay Spare.
  • Richard Spare – Printmaker, Beatrice Royal Contemporary Art & Craft, The Beatrice Royal Art Gallery, Tramman Trust, 2000.

References
  1. "ArtPress - Richard Spare Collection". ArtPress. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. Baile de Laperrière, Charles (2006). Who's Who in Art 32nd Edition. Calne, Wiltshire: Hilmarton Manor Press. p. 821. ISBN 0904722414.
  3. Dyson, Anthony (1983). Thomas Ross & Son, Fine Art Printers – The Nineteenth Century Heritage. London: Thomas Ross & Son. pp. 24 & 56.
  4. Scottish Arts Council (1979). David Hockney Prints 1954–77. The Midland Group and the Scottish Arts Council in association with Petersburg Press. pp. Catalogue Numbers: 200, 202, 207, 210 & 217.
  5. Scottish Arts Council. The Blue Guitar. pp. Catalogue Number 204, Tokyo 186).
  6. Littlewood, Robert C (2012). The Joy of Being Richard Spare. Stoke-on-Trent: The Lytlewode Press.
  7. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1973. London: William Clowes & Sons. 1973. p. 82.
  8. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1985. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1985. p. 106.
  9. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1986. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1986. p. 98.
  10. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1988. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1988. p. 83.
  11. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1990. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1990. p. 31.
  12. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1992. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1992. p. 58.
  13. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1994. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1994. pp. 25&33.
  14. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1996. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1996. pp. 28&34.
  15. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1997. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1997. p. 41.
  16. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 1998. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1998. pp. 29&78.
  17. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 99. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 1999. p. 35.
  18. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2000. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2000. pp. 37&58.
  19. Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2001 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2001. p. 79.
  20. Summer Exhibition 2003 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2003. p. 94.
  21. Summer Exhibition 2004 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2004. p. 38.
  22. Summer Exhibition 2005 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2005. pp. 32&34.
  23. Summer Exhibition 2006 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2006. pp. 32&35.
  24. Summer Exhibition 2007 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2007. p. 33. ISBN 9781905711192.
  25. Summer Exhibition 2008 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2008. p. 42. ISBN 9781905711444.
  26. Summer Exhibition 2009 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2009. pp. 31&63. ISBN 9781905711635.
  27. Summer Exhibition 2010 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2010. p. 42. ISBN 9781905711994.
  28. Summer Exhibition 2011 List of Works. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2011. pp. 77&82. ISBN 9781907533228.
  29. Summer Exhibition List of Works 2012. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2012. p. 88. ISBN 9781907533495.
  30. Summer Exhibition List of Works 2014. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2014. p. 50. ISBN 9781910350126.
  31. Summer Exhibition List of Works 2015. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2015. pp. 91&95. ISBN 9781910350379.
  32. 250th Summer Exhibition List of Works 2018. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2018. p. 122. ISBN 9781912520138.
  33. Summer Exhibition List of Works 2019. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 2019. p. 106. ISBN 9781912520497.
  34. The Discerning Eye 1997. London. 1997.
  35. The Discerning Eye 2005. London. 2005.
  36. Bertok, Nina (October 2012). "Art for the People". The Melbourne Review.
  37. "Richard Spare's Biography". Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  • In a Chiaroscuro, from: The Blue Guitar (Scottish Arts Council 204; Tokyo 186)
  • Butlin, M., Gage, J., Joll, E. and Wilton, A., Turner 1775–1851: Bicentenary Exhibition Catalogue (London: Tate, 1974)
  • The Endeavour Botanical Illustrations
  • Judith A. Diment, Christopher J. Humphries, Linda Newington & Elaine Shaughnessy. Catalogue of the natural history drawings commissioned by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour voyage 1768–1771 held in the British Museum (Natural History), Part I: Botany: Australia (Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Historical Series Volume 11), London, 1984.
  • Judith A. Diment, Christopher J. Humphries, Linda Newington & Elaine Shaughnessy. Catalogue of the natural history drawings commissioned by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour voyage 1768–1771 held in the British Museum (Natural History), Part 2: Botany: Brazil, Java, Madeira, New Zealand, Society Islands and Tierra del Fuego (Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Historical Series Volume 12), London, 1987.
  • Ceri Richards (exh. cat., London, Tate, 1981)
  • The Valley, Keith Haring and William Burroughs, George Mulder Fine Arts, New York City


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