SCULPTURE

Larry McLaughlin

McLaughlin’s process is deeply personal. He often creates an armature and then pushes wet concrete around it in circular motions, treating the material as “very live” in his hands media.managedartwork.com. This method produces sculptures that seem to detach from the ground, challenging the viewer’s perception of concrete as an industrial material. His works juxtapose movement with stillness, transparency with solidity, and occupy space without enclosing it 

 Larry McLaughlin is an American sculptor and mixed-media artist known for his exploration of the interplay between consciousness, imagination, and the natural world. His work often seeks to express something essential, capturing it at its most forceful moment through simplicity of form and raw materiality whitneymodern.com+1.

Early Life and Education

Born in Litchfield, Minnesota in 1956, McLaughlin began working in sculpture while studying at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the 1970s whitneymodern.com+1. He later worked in London as a painter and printmaker before returning to Paris in 1988 to complete studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. His work was first exhibited there in the Atelier Charpentier...

Materials and Themes

His sculptures are made from lightweight concrete, metal, glass, resin, and gold leaf, often with symbolic or figurative forms such as animals, birds, and mythical creatures whitneymodern.com. The use of gold leaf and intricate detailing adds a sense of sacred or ceremonial quality, while the concrete’s lightness evokes weightlessness and freedom.

Studio Life and Exhibitions

McLaughlin maintains studio-residences in France and the United States, including a workshop in the Loire Valley and another on two acres of desert in Phoenix, Arizona whitneymodern.com+1. His work is represented in numerous galleries across Europe, Canada, and the USA. He has exhibited internationally, including in Paris, Basel, Zurich, and Ticino, and has participated in biennials and group shows whitneymodern.com+1.

Notable Works

Examples include Flying Horse, Golden Bird, Large Cat Mask, Large Sea Horse, and Colored Soul series, each exploring form, material, and symbolic meaning whitneymodern.com.

In essence, McLaughlin’s art bridges the organic and the industrial, using minimal forms to evoke deep emotional and philosophical resonance.