Sprick, Daniel

b. 1953

Contemporary realist painter Daniel Sprick produces meticulously executed portraits and figurative compositions whose muted palettes and sense of stillness encourage slow contemplation. His paintings feature a range of subjects, from still lifes of flowers and unlikely assortments of objects to interiors and urban and pastoral scenes. A diverse range of men, women, and youth populate his portraits and figurative works; taken together, they reflect a rich and encompassing view of humanity. “I’m interested in all walks of life, everyone,” the artist once explained about his choice of subjects. “Some that may be considered conventionally beautiful and others that may not, and everyone in between.” In his still lifes, which recall those of the Dutch and Flemish traditions, Sprick brings together the sumptuous—including silver tableware and starched white tablecloths—and the mundane, such as tin cans and old bottles, in elegant, harmoniously balanced arrangements.

Daniel Sprick has been featured in articles for Fine Art Connoisseur, Denver Post and Southwest Art. The most recent article is Contemporary Visions of Beauty: Windows to the Divine written for Fine Art Connoisseur in November 2020.

His work is contained in numerous private and public collections, including the Denver Art Museum (See My Metaphysical Adventure, 1999 and Release Your Plans, 2001 below). His works have been exhibited in a number of museum shows.

According to the Denver Art Museum:

“Many of Sprick’s oil paintings, including Release Your Plans, feature an arrangement of objects set up in his studio. Some of his favorite objects show up in multiple works. He carefully selects and arranges the objects, making choices intuitively. “Mostly I paint things because I like the way things look,” says Sprick. “I have mountains of books on iconography, but iconography isn’t substantial enough. The thing has to resonate, have its own visual appeal. However, there could be some meaning in there that I don’t even know about—I’m not saying there is no meaning in there.”

While his style is very realistic, Sprick does make changes to what he sees before him, and he doesn’t limit himself to the laws of nature. He says, “I mostly see the world as a pretty good place. I guess that’s what I want to come though my work—something life affirming or some sense of well-being, some optimism, some hope—even though I load it with portents of mortality and so forth. You know, I haven’t forgotten that those things exist, and I don’t think that the world is just a field of puppies romping in the daisies or anything, but it’s a good place, I just realize that there’s razor blades and cigarette butts, too.”

https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/edu/object/release-your-plans

Education:

AA-Mesa College, Grand Junction, CO, 1973
Ramon Froman School of Art
National Academy of Design, New York, NY, 1976
BA-University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, 1978

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022