FOLLOWING THE DIARY OF AN ARTIST
LARRY SPICHER - ARTWORKS
Since the Covid 19 pandemic began, I've taken a particular interest in the development of the work of my artist friends as shared via social media. After some time perusing this body of work, I began to notice various creative gems that I had previously missed during more normal exhibitions. Exactly why has social media been so revealing? Well, I'm fairly certain it is because I am more 'at leisure' when contemplating work via social media, and therefore more likely to notice certain details, especially given that detail is often displayed more clearly on social media, where a work can be seen from various angles and in various enlargements. Even more interesting, having the phone in my hand I could easily call the artist to seek clarification about this or that feature.
A good example of this experience would be Basel Visual Art School student Larry Spicher. Via his Instagram account (@Irnc.art), Larry Spicher (20) keeps a daily record of his work, making it widely available both to his followers as well as to the public in general. The page is updated almost every day.
This is interesting to me, mainly in the way that it reveals the spirited development of Larry's work within the relative confines of the pandemic. I think it is fair to say that Larry shares on Instagram can be seen as an expression of Larry as an individual, even though he himself sees it more profanely as a record of his study process. Larry does not involve others in his work, and generally avoids the kind of outside influences and theories that are often sought by most young students thirsty for knowledge.
Although Larry uses reference material, reads widely, and follows the formal curriculum of his school, a unique feature of his daily work is his consistent and continuous development of line, colour and space, that coalesce in forms of expression that can be either figurative or non-figurative. At the same time I am convinced that Larry is concerned about much more than technique, and is seeking at the same time a language that can give meaningful expression to his thoughts, however directionless they may at first seem.
I have known Larry since he was a small child, having been acquainted for some time with his father, Basel painter Stephan Spicher. I have been able to follow his life journey through childhood, his interest in sport, his love music, and more recently his involvement in and study of art.
