About Richard R. Sperry
"I paint my life, as I experience it. I’m not merely an abstract painter or a land, sea or cityscape one or even a figurative one for that matter. The internal as well as the external mechanisms engage and compel me to paint my life, how I think, feel it, how I experience it and how I live it…my paintings are a diary, a catalogue and a chronology of happenings." ~Richard
Born in 1964 in the western suburbs of Chicago, Richard was encouraged by enthusiastic art teachers from an early age. He began drawing at age six and painting in his teens. He has studied art, taking classes throughout his life’s education, attending workshops and colleges, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. However, Richard is primarily self-trained, and attributes much of his artistic expressions to experimentation, observation and passion.
The artist considers himself an outsider and states, "It is nature in all its symbiotic relationships that inspire my interpretation of every day life". He adds, "I have experimented with mediums, sheens and patterns to echo rhythms of that nature". More than painting a person, place or thing, Sperry creates emotionally charged layers of textures, colors and images that are raw, spontaneous and often stream of consciousness. "I splash, splatter, flick, fling, drip, pour, and carve the paint with a palette knife enhancing each piece with brush work to create a fractal sense of depth," often juxtaposing archetypal imagery. Whether he is painting representational, non-objective or transitional works, his subject and technique give each work a sense of universal relation and power. Sperry is highly color sensitive, as seen in his rich and earthy artworks. He begins each piece as a three color splash painting. Often applying glazes and metallic highlights he creates a luminescent surface that shifts with changing light or angle. This characteristic allows varying perceptions for the viewer.
Richard is a member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Chicago Artists Coalition, as well as the Dupage and Naperville Art Leagues. He has exhibited and shown his work throughout the Midwestern U.S.A. and Chicago land area. Sperry has participated in art festivals, private one man shows, and been represented by area galleries since 2005. He has earned several awards of merit in local juried exhibits, has reviews and articles written about his art; Chicago Free Press, The Sun, Daily Herald and American Art collectors magazine.
ARTIST STATEMENT~Art is! Each work speaks to us as individuals. The humanities for me are what define and exhilarate us allowing for truth in communication. Aesthetic experience transcends most others and has the potential to break down barriers and relate us all through common expressions of art, nature and soul. My ambition is to promote a world view that is inclusive, evoking an emotional response, allowing each viewer to identify themselves on their own terms in my paintings. In my works, I try to keep them fresh and raw, drawing on my emotions and always playing the line between representational and non-rep forms, an abstract with a horizon line, a figure broken down into its essential shapes, textures and colors, a composition by design. If the viewer is moved toward feelings of charity, hope, and peace the most important message has been conveyed…the oneness of us all…of it all.
Gallery Representation~
Proud Fox Gallery, Geneva, 2005-2006
HRG, Chicago, 2007 (solo show)
Florida West Arts, Florida, 2007-2008
Bridges, A Gallery of Fine Art, Saint Charles, 2007-2008
Past Presence Ltd., Lisle 2008-2010
Proud Fox Gallery, Geneva, 2016-
Art Festivals~
Oakpark Art Festival, 2007
Danada Art Festival, 2007
Riverwalk Art Festival, 2007
Exhibits~
Roselle Library, 2007
Lasalle Bank, Wheaton, 2007
Dick Blick Art Supply, 2007
Saint Charles Library, 2008
Hotel Baker, 2007-2008
Norris Gallery, Saint Charles Vicinity 2008
Sycamore Fine Arts, Goshen IN, Peace On Earth –2009, Invitational
Norris Gallery, transformation 2009
NeXt gallery at Charlies, juried group show 2012
CBS Gallery, Two artists exhibit, 2012
Norris Gallery, Fly Away, St Charles, Il. 2016
If these Walls could Talk, Solo Show, Aurora, Il. 2016
Jackson Junge Gallery,Chicago Group Exhibit 'BLUE' 2019
Norris Cultural Center, St. Charles, Il. Vicinity Show 2021
Water Street Studios 12th Anniversary Show, Batavia Il. 2021
Proud Fox Gallery & Frame Shop, Geneva Il., group exhibition
Stand With Ukraine, a Unicef Ukraine Children’s Fundraiser 2022
Jackson Junge Gallery, Chicago, Chicago Works Exhibition, 2023
Jackson Junge Gallery, Chicago, "Ten by Ten" Exhibition, Nov. 2023-Jan. 2024
Norris Cultural Center, St Charles Il. "AT HOME" Exhibition, 2024
Proud Fox Gallery & Frame Shop, So This is 60 A Celebration in Art, Solo Exhibition 2024
Awards Of Merit~
“Sunset Thoughts” 2007 DuPage Art League
“12 Mile Beach”, 2007 Du Page Art League
‘Left My Heart in San Francisco”, 2007 DuPage Art League
“Patterns”, 2007 DuPage Art League
Circle Foundation for the Arts, 2023, Artistic Excellence awarded for
"Love's, Lines, Circles, Angles & Rhymes" 40”x40” mixed media on canvas
Norris Gallery, 2024, AT HOME Exhibition Honorable Mention Award for "Chicago Theatre - Sold Out", oil on canvas
Circle Foundation for the Arts, March 2024, Artist of the Year Award "Masterful Mind Award", 'Vonnegut's Garden' 48”x24” mixed media
Circle Foundation for the Arts, May 2024, Artist of the Month Honorable Mention Award, 'Wild Abandon' 112"x38"
Circle Foundation for the Arts, October 2024, Artist of the Month, "Masterful Mind Award" "5 Graces" 63"x56"
Education
School of the Art Institute, Chicago
Kishwakee Jr. College, Kishwakee
College of Dupage, Glen Ellyn