Jean Spencer (artist) facts for kids

Jean Mary Spencer (born April 22, 1942 – died January 4, 1998) was a British artist. She was famous for her abstract paintings and sculptures. Abstract art uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of showing things exactly as they look.

About Jean Spencer's Art Journey

Jean Spencer was born in Frimley, a town in Surrey, England. She studied to become a teacher at the Bath Academy of Art from 1960 to 1963. While she was a student, she started making her first abstract sculptures. Her teachers, John Ernest and Malcolm Hughes, introduced her to a style called systematic constructivism. This art style uses clear rules and systems to create art.

Teaching and Creating Art

After her studies, Jean Spencer taught art at the Loughborough College of Art. Later, she moved to the Bulmershe College of Higher Education in Reading. She worked there for twenty years, helping many students learn about art. In 1988, she joined the Slade School of Fine Art in London. She stayed at Slade for ten years, holding different important jobs.

Jean Spencer had her first art show all by herself in 1965. It was at the Bear Lane Gallery in Oxford. Her second solo show was at the University of Sussex in 1969.

Her Unique Art Style

In the 1960s, Jean Spencer often made cube-shaped sculptures. These sculptures were reliefs, meaning they stuck out from a flat surface. She used a mix of math rules and her own feelings to decide the sizes and shapes. Later in her career, she focused more on painting. She used bold, strong blocks of color in her artworks.

In 1967, Jean Spencer won a prize at the yearly John Moores exhibition in Liverpool. This was a big achievement for her art.

Working with the Systems Group

Jean Spencer was part of a group of British artists called the Systems Group. These artists were interested in making art based on systems and rules. Other artists in this group included Jeffrey Steele, [[Peter Lowe (artist)], Michael Kidner, and her future husband, Malcolm Hughes.

Her art was shown in many places across Europe between 1969 and 1973. This was part of different Systems Group exhibitions. In Britain, her work was also in a special art show in 1972. This show was organized by the Arts Council and traveled around the country.

Between 1977 and 1978, Jean Spencer created a series of books called Working Information. These books showed drawings and designs by artists from the Systems Group. She then spent a year at the University of Sussex. There, she studied the history and ideas behind art, earning her Master's degree.

Later Life and Legacy

Jean Spencer lived in London for many years. She was partners with Malcolm Hughes, her former teacher and fellow artist, for twenty-five years. They got married in 1997, shortly before he passed away.

Jean and Malcolm worked together on many art projects. One important project was an exhibition and discussion event called Testing the System in the 1990s. It was held at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge. After this, Jean Spencer became an artist-fellow at Churchill College. This meant she was a visiting artist who could work and share her ideas there.

After Jean Spencer and Malcolm Hughes passed away, the Tate museum held a special exhibition in 1999 to remember both of their artworks. Jean Spencer's paintings and sculptures are now in several public art collections. You can see her work at the Tate, the Arts Council, Reading Museum, and the University of Warwick.