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A Shanghai surprise
by Paul R Taylor23/ 6/2006
FROM Manchester to Shanghai is a new exhibition of oil paintings
by contemporary artist Liam Spencer.
The Burnley-born artist is best known for his urban landscapes of
Manchester and Salford, creating extraordinary pictures of familiar
buildings, bridges, canals, motorways and rooftops.
In recent years he has painted the Mancunian Way, Albert Square,
Urbis, Victoria Station, the Blue Moon Chippy in Moss Side, the now
defunct cinema on Oxford Road.
His work is very much influenced by weather conditions and he is
drawn to painting twilight, rainy days or bright sunny days -
conditions in which he can exploit the saturated, rich colours that
make his paintings so distinctive and atmospheric.
Spencer manages to find something fresh and interesting in the
everyday life of the city, painting what he sees on the street
after using his digital camera to record fleeting
impressions.
As well as his Manchester pictures, the exhibition at Manchester
Art Gallery also includes his paintings of New York, Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Beijing.
He visited New York in 2002 and 2003, capturing the vibrancy of
Times Square in the rain with its traffic, streams of pedestrians
and billboards.
His most recent series of paintings are scenes of cities in China
and the hustle and bustle of streets and waterways in Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Beijing.
On Thursday, August 31, Spencer will be painting in Albert Square,
with the public invited to paint their own Manchester scenes.
A range of exhibition-related merchandise will be on sale in the
gallery shop, including books, prints and postcards.
The exhibition runs from Saturday, July 8, to September 24. Entry
is free.
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