Working across drawing, painting and sculpture, Laith McGregor’s multi-disciplinary practice reflects an ongoing inquiry into contemporary portraiture, semiotics of image making and notions of the self. With pieces incorporating laborious, hyper-realistic illustration, accumulations of pencil and eraser shavings, and other processes that form a meditative daily ritual, his practice is resolutely underpinned by a commitment to physical studio work and the marking of time. McGregor’s works wrestle with the grey area that exists between fiction and non-fiction, negative and positive, black and white, two- and three- dimensions, serving an ongoing inquiry into the complexities of what it means to be human.
McGregor achieved success early in his career for his intricately drawn works, using ballpoint pen and pencil, winning the Robert Jacks Drawing Prize (2008), the Qantas Foundation Encouragement of Australian Contemporary Art Award (2009), and the Emerging New Work Grant by The Australia Council for the Arts (2009). Since then, he has been the winner of the Paul Guest Drawing Prize (2018), National Works on Paper Prize (2012), and the Paul Guest Memorial Prize (2018), and a finalist in many other prizes. He has participated in numerous residencies including Art Omi New York, HIAP Helsinki and the Barcelona Studio residency through the Australian Council for the Arts. He has exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally, and is represented in significant institutional collections. McGregor was included in the recent Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art 2022: FREE STATE, at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
step or stone, breath or bone
2024
installation view
Astrid Muller
Untitled (Prop 1)
2024
chair, enamel, walking cane, cue balls
Document Photography
Untitled Support (2)
2024
charcoal, pins & walking cane in custom frame
76.0 x 56.0 cm
Document Photography
step or stone, breath or bone
2024
installation view
Astrid Muller
Nigh Night
2013
pencil on paper
230.0 x 300.0 cm (overall)
Vessel (Piccolo)
2022
glazed ceramic and cue balls
18.5 x 14.5 cm
Tall Tale
Installation view
Sunset
Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art 2022: FREE STATE, at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
2022
installation view
Saul Steed
Untitled (Checkmate)
Laith install
Stalemate
7 Months
Long Song
Light Nights
The Night
After Fairweather, Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, QLD
installation view
S-O-M-E-ON-E (installation view)
Naarm / Melbourne
9 Ellis Street
South Yarra, Victoria 3141
Australia
+61 3 9826 2470
Gadigal / Sydney
91 Campbell Street
Surry Hills, New South Wales 2010
Australia
+61 2 9055 4688
