Thomas Spande savors visual aesthetics.
“I think in a world where so much art is highly conceptual, realism can still be alive and appeals to people,” Spande said. “An artist?s eye is still valuable despite the fact we all have digital cameras around our necks.”
The Hampden resident pushes color and explores lines in more than 50 petite paintings and drawings at Antreasian Gallery in Baltimore.
Spande?s subject matter in the Antreasian exhibit varies from portraits and zoo animals to Maine seascapes and landscapes.
No longer obsessed with details, as he was in the beginning of his career, Spande values the overall feeling his works radiate, he said.
“I was captivated by how lines and color could reveal a space and create illusions,” Spande said about his childhood fascination with drawing. “It was, and still is, magical to me.”
Spande?s works “call for a willing probing of their varied effects,” said Larry Luchtmanshingh, an independent art critic familiar with Spande?s exhibits. “They invariably give us visual pleasure as well as matter for enriching reflection.”
Controversial 19th-century artist James McNeill Whistler inspires him, Spande said. “Whistler?s paintings are nuance and have a delicate touch.”
Spande delved into drawing and painting at Bowdoin College in Maine, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and L?Ecole Des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
“His drawings are firm, vigorous, precise and very effective,” said Spande?s former Parisian professor, Philippe Comar.
Studying in the City of Lights taught Spande “an understanding of the human body can translate into understanding the forms in still-life and landscape,” he said. “Yet, when you?re painting a gaze, it can?t even be one millimeter off. Otherwise, the eyes will mean something totally different.”
IF YOU GO
Thomas Spande: Drawings and Paintings
» Venue: Antreasian Gallery
1111 W. 36th St., Baltimore
» When: Oct. 3-26
Opening Reception: Oct. 5, 6 to 9 p.m.
» Information: 410-235-4420
