Artist Profile | Laith McGregor

Artist Profile | Laith McGregor

Name: Laith McGregor
Occupation / practice: Visual Artist.

What are you working on now? 
I’m working on a few solo shows towards the end of the year/early next year, in Berlin, Auckland and Melbourne. Right now I’m in the middle of a large body of paintings which have been really fun, there are some exciting things on the horizon.

What’s the last show that you saw that surprised you?
I’m not sure if you’d call it a show as such, but I recently saw the permanent collection hang at The Broad in Los Angeles. Its always great to see a bunch of amazing works hanging together in an incredible space, absolutely breathtaking.

What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
My speakers; I’d be lost without music to work to…

What song is playing right now?
CAN and Father John Misty are competing for the speakers at the moment, they’re on repeat. Time to move on I think…

You use a variety of mediums in your practice – what’s your process?
My ideas will often dictate the medium involved in any given show. I’m usually moving between a number of different works at once, where I’ll concentrate on one for a couple of hours and then go onto the next. It’s probably why each show I have usually involves a number of different mediums, including drawing, painting, sculpture and video. I’m working on a performance piece for one of the new shows which will be fun.

 

 

You’re having a dinner party and you can invite 5 people living or not… Who do you invite?How do you get from idea to finished piece?
The subconscious plays a huge role in the output of the work. I’m very intuitive with my approach and often let mistakes and random incidents become part of the process and outcome. I never know what the finished piece will look like.

John Lennon, Helen Frankenthaler, Picasso, David Hammons and Cleopatra.

Nice.

Who first encouraged you to pursue art seriously?
My Mum. She always believed and never doubted.

Any thing you’d like to add / what have you got coming up?
I have a solo show on at the moment at Caloundra Regional Gallery on the Sunshine Coast, which is then travelling to Tweed Regional Gallery. The opening is on the 12th of October. Keep your eyes peeled.

Exciting. We’ll be there.

Until then, where can we find you? In the studio or @laithmcgregor

Image | Amanda Austin

Image L | Laith McGregor, This Old Night, pencil on paper, 211.5 x 157cm, 2018 | Image R | ‘Untitled, Totem’ wood, clay & chalk board paint, 2018