This website uses cookies to improve your experience navigating our site. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
OK, I understand
Australian houses, from architectural masterpieces to suburban family homes, Victorian terraces, mid-century marvels, coastal shacks, city apartments, and everything in between.
Award-winning Australian architecture, inspiring homes, and interviews with Australia’s top architects.
Award-winning Australian interior design, inspiring homes, and interviews with Australia’s top designers.
In depth features on Australia’s most beautiful gardens and landscape design.
Studio visits with Australia’s most talented creatives, from artists to architects, ceramicists to stylists, furniture makers to lighting designers.
Studio visits with Australia’s top artists, and unmissable art exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and beyond.
Weekly recipes and meal ideas from our favourite cooks, authors and foodies.
Unique travel destinations, design-led accomodation and day trip ideas in Australia and New Zealand.
Australian houses, from architectural masterpieces to suburban family homes, Victorian terraces, mid-century marvels, coastal shacks, city apartments, and everything in between.
Award-winning Australian architecture, inspiring homes, and interviews with Australia’s top architects.
Award-winning Australian interior design, inspiring homes, and interviews with Australia’s top designers.
In depth features on Australia’s most beautiful gardens and landscape design.
Studio visits with Australia’s most talented creatives, from artists to architects, ceramicists to stylists, furniture makers to lighting designers.
Studio visits with Australia’s top artists, and unmissable art exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and beyond.
Weekly recipes and meal ideas from our favourite cooks, authors and foodies.
Unique travel destinations, design-led accomodation and day trip ideas in Australia and New Zealand.
It's been a long time since we've covered the work of one of our favourite Melbourne artists, Lucas Grogan, and BOY has he had a busy few years! Inbetween large scale public commissions and exhibitions both on home soil and internationally, this is one young Australian artist whose star is well and truly on the rise.
Lucas takes the term 'prolific' to another level. In the past eighteen months alone, he has completed 5 major site specific public works, including a wall painting at Old Man’s Canggu in Bali, Indonesia (2013), a much-photographed (and instagrammed!) private commission on the exterior facade of a residential home in Fitzroy (2013), a large scale mural called SEE I TOLD YOU for Newcastle Art Gallery (2014), another mural called YEAH YEAH YEAH in Fremantle (2014) and most recently, an incredible installation called Waterfall for a new building in Haymarket, Sydney, made from over 250,000 glass beads on wire - which moves!
The above-mentioned projects complement a seemingly super-human schedule of exhibitions both here and abroad, including projects in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York and across Australia. For someone whose work is characterised by such fine linework and meticulous attention to detail, Lucas' consistent creative output is nothing short of mind boggling! He is, quite simply, one of the most disciplined and driven artists we know.
In the lead up to the Melbourne Art Fair, which opens in Melbourne tomorrow, we asked Lucas about his latest exploits, and what we can expect to see from him at the fair -
It's been very busy, which has been brilliant. I have been lucky enough to be keeping myself busy doing exhibitions and projects in Hong Kong, Beijing, Bali, New York and all over Australia.
Aside from the public projects you already mentioned, I’m also currently exhibiting my first solo exhibition WIZDOM at Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney, which ends this Sunday August 17th. This show features paintings as well as mixed media works including cross stitch and a 2 metre wide hand embroidered 'Wedding Quilt'.
In previous bodies of work I have always tried to achieve a sense of movement by using detailed patterns, however for Gallerysmith’s exhibition at the Melbourne Art Fair, I've taken this one step further. All fourteen works have been mounted onto motors that spin continuously. Combining text sourced from conversations, prayers and song lyrics with hoards of ghosts, tombstones and roulette wheels - the works have a playful yet menacing presence. The works rotate endlessly, forming an almost meditative, hypnotic vortex of different problems, obsessions and insights.
I’m excited about my collaboration with FAUX as part of their Australian Artist Series porcelain editions. There are four different pieces, each produced in an edition of 100, due for release in September.
I’m also excited about my collaboration with SKARFE and our three different cotton scarves, which will be available in November this year.
My next solo exhibition at Hugo Michell Gallery in Adelaide will be in November, where I’ll be exhibiting my huge mountain quilt that I’m currently making from scraps of fabric sourced from people off Instagram!
Catch Lucas' work at Gallerysmith, stand C107 at The Melbourne Art Fair this Wednesday Aug 13th - Sunday August 17th 2014.
Lucas Grogan is represented by Gallerysmith, Melbourne, Hugo Michell Gallery, Adelaide and Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney.
The Design Files acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
First Nations artists, designers, makers, and creative business owners are encouraged to submit their projects for coverage on The Design Files. Please email bea@thedesignfiles.net
The Design Files’ original content and photos are copyright protected. Please email us before reposting our content on other publications, personal websites, or Instagram. Feel free to share our images on Pinterest using the credit ‘via thedesignfiles.net’. Thank you!