Studio Visit: Larry Spaid
“Did you study with Larry Spaid?”
That question was inevitable whenever I told someone in conversation that I’d studied on Temple University’s main campus in the Art and Art Education Department. I was there from 1991-1994 and Larry was one of the painting department’s well-regarded professors.
Based on my subsequent interactions with him, I would have really liked to have studied with Larry. The only problem was that when I was there, Larry was teaching at the Temple Rome campus. So, no, I did not study with Larry. However, that didn’t stop me from hearing about him and seeing his work here and there over the years. Larry retired from teaching years ago, but I kept running into him at various art openings around Philly and eventually he and I had short conversations whenever we’d bump into each other.
I was honored when he told me that he thought I was making strong work. That meant a lot coming from someone of his generation-Larry’s a Vietnam vet, drafted out of graduate school in the late ‘60s. He’s 78 now, so almost a full twenty years older than myself and I’m glad that I finally got around to seeing his studio and recent works. It was quite an honor to have the invite as I’m trying to be more present with other artists here in a meaningful way, younger and older.
Like a lot of painters, and really, because of my isolationist tendencies, I can happily spend way too much time alone. I’m not introverted (maybe as a kid I was a little) but I think because of my single-child upbringing, I got really used to spending plenty of time by myself.
His place isn’t far from my own studio, in a nondescript store-front on a busy Girard Avenue in North Philly. I would’ve walked right past it had I not been looking for the address. The area is mostly gentrified now, but back in the day, when Larry first bought the building, it was a very different area. I can attest to that. He mentioned having to clean up numerous syringes, condoms and whatever else was left on the street in the rear of the space. Anyway, being in Larry’s space and having the chance to get nose-close to a lot of his work at once and talk with him about it really made my day.
There’s something about how he handles form, edges, line, space and textures in such considered ways that kept me staring at some of his pieces for long moments. There’s a way about how he handles forms that makes even the heavier looking shapes dance and move languidly within the picture plane. His handling of background colors lends a sense of air lifting other the other elements. The bolder moves bring you in and then you’re discovering even more there that sends you back out to reevaluate the relationships you thought you knew.
Another thing about Larry’s work is how he manages to balance some of these sharper forms with softer textures and colors and make them work in ways that they almost shouldn’t.
What’s a studio visit without making note all of the aspects outside of the finished works? Larry keeps a pretty neat work space and I have no doubt that the way it was set up today, as far as his work tables and such was how he keeps it most of the time. I also got to visit his home a block away from his studio and seeing that, I can tell that there is a place for everything and everything has its place.
Larry likes to travel and did a lot of it with his late wife, Susan Fenton, who was a very good and well-respected photographer. I really like her work.
Along his many journeys, he’s picked up a lot of various interesting objects, like the two big brushes above. The one on the left is a horsehair brush he got in China and is normally used for painting houses and other structures. The one on the right is a Japanese brush used for ink, but he said he only used it once because it didn’t give him the desired effect, but he’s kept it for some years, anyway.
Like a lot of artists, Larry collects a variety of ephemera that’s interesting in its own way. The fishing hook was on a window sill with a bunch of springs. I didn’t ask him about the springs, but the hook is important because one of Larry’s favorite past times is fishing. One of his favorite kinds of fishing is surf fishing down the shore in Bridgatine, NJ.
He doesn’t seem to have updated his website lately, but if you visit it, you can get a look at some images of Larry’s and other works dated to 2016. I’m hoping to catch up with him again soon and not let too much time pass before that happens.
I left feeling filled up and happy to have art at the center of my life, in spite of the difficulties that arise from it. People like Larry Spaid renew my creative spirit, gives me strength to keep going and I hope to continue doing that for others in whatever ways I can.
Listening party
Here’s a few interesting art pods I’ve listened to lately:
Thanks for reading and I’ll be back again soon!
I love this visit and I really like Larry's work. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this visit with artist Larry Spaid. You write beautifully - a painter's perspective on another painter, making just the kind of observations that bring it all to life. Your photos complete a sense of sobriety and careful playfulness that I get from this work.