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Liam Spencer

Venue: Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Gallery

Rating: 4

Liam Spencer's Impressionistic paintings capture fleeting panoramic views of Manchester. His brushstrokes are large and energetic, yet the scale of his work is surprisingly small. Working generally from direct observation, Spencer creates paintings that are spontaneous and vivid, unlike the dull hues of L.S. Lowry. Both artists successfully depict the once thriving industrial city with originality and exuberance.

In some cases Spencer adopts a Photo Realist approach, constructing scenes by translating a photograph to canvas by way of a grid. This is so in his images of New York, where his use of paint is loose and flowing, creating a blurred haze of the bright lit city. He also employees a unique technique of a 'fish-eye' view, piecing together the more interesting bits of the landscape and erasing other parts, in a process of selective viewing by an artistic eye. In this respect Spencer creates a somewhat idealised view of the city.

The works are to be viewed as if one were immersed within the landscape. Just as a car might speed by, so the spectator must move their head to view the entire work, for Spencer often produces works on wide but narrow canvases. In this way his works are reminisant of the Futurists, with their fascination for speed and movement.

Spencer was the first artist to exhibit at The Lowry when it opened and since has grown as an artist with increasing popularity. The preview saw twenty-nine of his forty-two works sold, with many empty-handed viewers leaving disappointed. The exhibition is worth the venture to East Didsbury, the gallery if situated at the end of Warburton Street, a quiet cobble lane set just of the main road. The Saints and Scholars cafe is a good place to stop for a cup of tea to complete the ultimate relaxing afternoon.

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