Robert Spicher

Artist Statement

I utilize the figure and sometimes animals in an expressive and metaphorical way to comment on human behavior and the human condition. To me, there are infinite ways to use gestures and the human anatomy.

I keep a sketchbook in which I draw daily. These entries are usually done intuitively, almost like automatic writing. Often I return to a figure in my sketch book and continue to exaggerate and distort it. When I start on an etching or canvas I will pull from one or more sketch book pages to assemble a design. Composition is very important to me and I usually create several preparatory drawings until the image has the dynamic and spatial relationship that I am looking for. I complete the image by adding additional symbolic elements.

I am influenced by the German expressionists in the way they used line and color and by Rembrandt’s etchings for their qualities of light and dark.  My images are characterized through a free and expressive line. Color is used freely, without the need for accurate representation, and with the mingling of warm and cool colors in the same spaces. I practice submission to the irrational aspects of the work and let the viewers bring their own interpretations to the work.

Bob Spicher, 2008

Biography

Date and Place of Birth: 1946, Decatur, Ml             

Education:

Kendall School of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, Ml

Military Service:

US Army, Vietnam War 1967-1968 

Professional Experience:

Art Instructor, Oasis Program, VA Hospital, Albuquerque, NM

Drawing Instructor, Senior Ed. Program, City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM

Selected Exhibitions:

2008: Made in New Mexico, Wolverhampton College, Wolverhampton, U.K.

           Made in New Mexico, Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina

           Boneyard Poets, New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

 2007: New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

 2003: Copper Art Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

 1991: Dettaglio, Chicago IL

 1990: Wellington Art Gallery, Chicago IL

 1990: Diversity Fine Arts, Chicago IL

 1989: University of Illinois, Chicago, Chicago IL

 1989: Wellington Art Gallery, Chicago IL

 1989: Southport Gallery, Chicago IL

 1989: Cosmopolitan Bank, Chicago IL

 1988: Southport Gallery, Chicago IL

Collections:

Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Wolverhampton College, Wolverhampton, U.K.
National Achieves, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Child Guidance Corp., New York NY

The Gutfreund Collection, Chicago IL

M. WHey Collection, New York NY

Mr. & Mrs D. Ware Collection, Winter Garden FL

Gerald Guice Estate Collection.Owando, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Numerous Private Collections

Professional Reviews:

Pulitzer Newspapers, Aug. 1988

Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 1988