Nicholas Spohrer is a printmaker whose introspective narrative work is infused with themes of desire, longing, loneliness, and searching. He prints small editions on Japanese paper, combining a reductive approach to the woodblock with monoprinting techniques to achieve delicate layers of color. The result is precise, atmospheric prints that depict quiet landscapes and seem to evoke a lost past, more connect- ed to the land than our present day - or an alternative future.

Often, the characters in Spohrer’s prints are inspired by people and animals from his life - such as the family dog, Ogre, who appears in many of his prints - as a companion on a fishing boat or lolling about at the feet of the woman portrayed in Colander of Fish (2013), as she stands on a pathway displaying the day’s catch. We understand that much is happening outside the frame that is depicted by the artist. People appear running through bucolic landscapes, rowing boats, or fending off wolves. Each print has a strong sense of story, and like the best narrative work, the personal stories and characters we encounter connect to universal emotions and themes.

Nicholas Spohrer received his M.F.A from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. His prints have been included in numerous group and solo shows, including at Murray State University, The Fresno Metropolitan Museum, Northern Arizona Museum of Art, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln, the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, as well as in Bulgaria and France. Spohrer presently teaches Printmaking at Fresno City College.