Tony Spencer

Bio

Tony Spencer (b. 1971) is a British artist based at The Yard Studios in Winchester, Hampshire. His practice spans mokuhanga (the traditional Japanese technique of woodblock printmaking), sculpture and sound installation.

 

He studied Fine Art Sculpture (BA) at Northumbria University and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Gallery Studies from Newcastle University. Alongside his artistic career, Spencer has worked extensively in gallery management and contemporary curating. Most recently, he completed an MA with Distinction in Art Psychotherapy at the University of Derby.

He is an Associate Artist at Chapel Arts Studios (CAS) in Andover, UK.

 

CV:  Tony Spencer

 

Statement

 

My current practice focuses on contemporary Japanese water-based woodblock printing, known as mokuhanga. This medium beautifully balances traditional techniques with artistic expression. I am drawn to the use of natural materials, allowing me to create with a conscious appreciation for the environment. Carving the wood is a slow and tactile process, which appeals to my sculptural sensibility. Every day, I work in my studio in Winchester, where I balance my practice with reflective walks along the River Itchen. These seasonal observations inspire my experimentation, which I express through delicate, transparent layers of water-based pigments on handmade washi paper. 

 

Alongside woodblock printmaking, I work in the medium of sculpture, exploring contained spaces and geometric forms. I feel that geometry provides a cognitive framework for the order I seek through simplicity, rhythm, and harmony. On reflection, perhaps geometry itself feels safe and contained. However, I am equally drawn to its archetypal resonance and modernist interpretation of natural forms. When combined with sound, my sculptures invite kinesthetic and multisensory engagement, encouraging intuitive exploration through movement, interaction, and perception.

 

Since qualifying as an Art Psychotherapist, my practice has continued with an enquiry into contained spaces, and increasingly become self-reflective by working with Teatro Lambe Lambe, a miniature form of puppet theatre. This intimate, performative format allows for subtle storytelling and psychological depth through symbolic narrative and contained space.

 

Across all mediums, my work seeks to connect inner and outer worlds, offering the viewer moments of stillness, insight, and resonance.