Artist profile

Richard Spare is a painter and printmaker. After studying painting at Maidstone College of Art in the 1970s, Richard embarked on a career that has seen him edition work for a number of leading contemporary artists including David Hockney, Robert Ryman and Jasper Johns among others. He has exhibited his own work internationally and has often displayed work in our own Summer Exhibition over the years.

He first came to Hockney’s attention in 1977 working as his assistant. During their time together, Spare took charge of setting up an etching studio for him and observed Hockney creating sets for a Glyndebourne production of The Magic Flute. A decade later, Spare was working with Jasper Johns in New York, proofing and editioning complex carborundum prints.

Today, Spare focuses on producing his own work, drawing on themes of nature and travel. Based in Charlton, he works from a converted Victorian coach house. A homage to the art of printmaking, this specially designed studio is home to his lovingly restored antique etching presses.

Solo exhibitions of Spare’s work have been held in galleries throughout Japan and Australia, while here in the UK, his solo shows have appeared at The Craft Centre & Design Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery and Trevelyan College, University of Durham.