Clark Art Ltd - Liam Spencer b 1964

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Liam Spencer was born in Burnley in 1964 and is one of the rising stars of the British contemporary arts scene. He completed a Foundation Course at the Burnley College of Arts and Technology and then went to Manchester Polytechnic where he graduated with a BA(Hons) in Fine Art.
Although Liam Spencer had already exhibited regularly and widely (Burnley, Guilford, London, Manchester, York), his Solo exhibition at the prestigious opening of the Lowry in Salford was so successful that his name has subsequently been linked with the urban panoramas of Manchester and Salford. This exhibition in year 2000 established his reputation as one of the leading artists in the North West. His career was further complemented by the re-opening of the Manchester Art Gallery in 2002 where two paintings by Liam Spencer are on exhibition, one of which hangs impressively amongst the Impressionist painters Adolphe Valette, Camille and Lucien Pisarro, and L.S. Lowry.
Liam Spencer is best known for his urban landscapes of Manchester and Salford, he paints familiar scenes and buildings, creating extraordinary pictures of bridges, canals, motorways, industrial buildings, rooftops, traffic and the city at night. He is an artist who sees something fresh and interesting in the everyday life of the city. He paints from what he sees on the street, often on the journey from home to his studio, using a camera to record fleeting impressions. He often colours his canvas with the gleaming reflections caused by car headlights, and the glistening roads and buildings constantly dampened by our Northern climate.
He has painted the Mancunian Way many times, at different times of day and in different weather conditions. The now defunct Odeon Cinema on Oxford Road, Albert Square, Urbis and Victoria Station all appear in his pictures and capture the city's constant transformation.
In 2002 and 2003, Spencer painted a series of pictures in New York based on digital photographs he took there. Times Square in the rain is painted in all its vibrancy, with its traffic, streams of pedestrians and billboards. Spencer's most recent series of paintings are scenes of cities in China; the hustle and bustle of the streets and waterways of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing are captured with the artist's trademark use of colour and light.
In 2006 he exhibited From Manchester to Shanghai at Manchester Art Gallery, and was the subject of a 30 minute documentary on BBC NW, A Picture of Manchester.

What makes looking at Liam Spencer's paintings today so refreshing is that they very simply and confidently belong to that rarest of all traditions - the tradition of good painting.
Bridget Riley

Liam Spencer

b 1964

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Liam Spencer

Bonfire Hill, Crawshawbooth

Liam Spencer

Brooklyn

Liam Spencer

Cathedral and Irwell, 2012

Liam Spencer

Deansgate Dusk

Liam Spencer

Deansgate Manchester

Liam Spencer

Deansgate Study

Liam Spencer

Fire Rescue, New York, 2011

Liam Spencer

Flag Sellers, Old Trafford, 2012

Liam Spencer

Hale Village

Liam Spencer

Industrial Landscape

Liam Spencer

Irwell Bridge, 2012

Liam Spencer

Liverpool

Liam Spencer

Liverpool Study

Liam Spencer

Mill, Mosque and Supermarket, 2012

Liam Spencer

Oldham Road III, 2012

Liam Spencer

Oxford Road Ink Drawing I

Liam Spencer

Oxford Road Ink Drawing I

Liam Spencer

Oxford Road Ink Drawing II

Liam Spencer

Oxford Road Study I

Liam Spencer

Oxford Road Study II

Liam Spencer

Oxford Road, Manchester

Liam Spencer

Palace,Refuge and Cornerhouse, 2012

Liam Spencer

Piccadilly Twilight

Liam Spencer

Piccadilly, London, 2003

Liam Spencer

Refuge and Cornerhouse, 2012

Liam Spencer

Refuge and Figures, 2013

Liam Spencer

Refuge and Reflections

Liam Spencer

Refuge and Reflections I Ink Drawing

Liam Spencer

Refuge and Reflections II Ink Drawing

Liam Spencer

Refuge and Reflections Study

Liam Spencer

Salford Quays at Dusk, 2012

Liam Spencer

Salford Quays Study, Sunset

Liam Spencer

Salford Quays Study, Twilight

Liam Spencer

Science and Industry Museum, Sunset

Liam Spencer

Study for Salford Quays at Dusk, 2012

Liam Spencer

Westminster

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