St. Francis Expelling the Demons from the San Francisco MOMA Painting

Wilfred Spoon Wilfred’s work displays the formal characteristics of primitive art. In his still lifes the division between foreground and background is not distinct and Spoon’s space seems to be that of the Cubist-derived abstract still lifes that attracted many artists in the early to middle part of the twentieth century. These paintings embrace the mystery of the seemingly mundane maintaining his emphasis on structure. His landscapes are a celebration of primitive fantasy. Sometimes dark but always optimistic. Wilfred’s influences include primitive artists and many early and pre-renaissance painters of religious icons. Another undeniable influence is Cubism whose artists explored new spatial relationships that finally broke with the Renaissance traditions of perspective. His paintings have an undoubted charm, a delicate decorative sense and a gentle empathy and respect for the simple, the honest and the unpretentious. He strives to express what the artist knows rather than what he sees, and so the facts of physical reality are largely sifted through the mind and personality of the painter. His paintings demonstrate his love for the primitive as well as his extensive art education. This combination infuses his work with a surprising clarity in an unexpected world.