Originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, Ian Laughlin graduated from Ilam University with a Fine Arts Degree with Honors. After exhibiting in numerous galleries and museums throughout New Zealand and in Sydney, Australia, he moved to NYC in the early 1980’s. There he exhibited at Fashion Moda, M13, Ronald Feldman, Arbitrage/Anita Shapolsky, the Drawing Center, PS1, Exit Art, MoMA, and more recently at White Box, Y Gallery, and Pratt Manhattan. Within the US Laughlin has shown work at the Smithsonian, Washington DC; Mexic Art, Austin Texas; Cleveland Institute of Art, Ohio; and internationally at 2B Galeria, Budapest, Hungary; ZAIM, Yokohama, Japan; and Museum of Arts and Crafts, Itami, Itami-shi, Japan. In Upstate New York works have been exhibited at Donskoj, WAAM, Kingston Sculpture Biennale, Upstate Art, GCCA Catskill Gallery, Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, Cross Contemporary, Byrdcliffe, & Streamside.
He currently lives and has his studio in Chichester, NY.
Statement
The stewardship of the planet’s ecological structure requires understanding biological science and the destructive path that mankind has historically taken. In order to embrace the processes that heal and support all life on earth the right of people to determine a sustainable future is critical to that end. My work operates within that realm, exploring injustices and solutions.
Conceptual in nature, I bring attention to unsustainable issues and offer an alternative expressed through sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, digital media, sound, and/or video. For optimum realization of any project a specific or mixed media approach is adopted.