Liam Spencer was born in Burnley in 1964, and studied Fine Art at Manchester Polytechnic, graduating in 1986. Known for his vivid portrayals of urban landscapes, particularly of Manchester, he came to prominence with a solo exhibition at the newly opened Lowry Performing Arts Centre in 2000. Since that time, he has exhibited widely, most notably a retrospective at Manchester Art Gallery in 2006, “Manchester to Shanghai” and his paintings have been collected avidly. In 2005 he was the subject of a 30-minute documentary broadcasted on the BBC. 2008 was another momentous year for Spencer’s work as he was commissioned to create the artwork for the UEFA Cup Final at the City of Manchester Stadium (currently known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons). His paintings fronted the programs, tickets, city centre banners as well as being used to decorate the stadium. His work can be seen in several public collections, including Manchester City Art Galleries, Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Touchstones Rochdale and Towneley Hall Museum and Art Gallery in Burnley. His recent work is increasingly concerned with nature, and how wildlife has repopulated our post-industrial landscapes. A recent exhibition – “Irwell: Afterlife” explored the return of nature to a once badly polluted industrial river, and for the first- time added video installations to the mix of paintings and drawings. “What makes looking at Spencer’s paintings today so refreshing is that they belong to that rarest of all traditions-the tradition of good painting.” Bridget Riley