Arthur Laidlaw produces layered, tactile compositions in which memories and photographs of friends and lovers are transformed into almost kaleidoscopic picture planes. Working in oil, acrylic, and gouache, he renders figures that feel both vividly present and subtly elusive—more drip and gesture than defined character. These presences seem to hover between intimacy and distance, reflecting the unsettling truth that no one can ever be fully known. His approach aligns with a lineage of anti‑narrative figuration, where interrupted gestures and incomplete forms act as deliberate obstacles to conventional storytelling. Rather than offering a linear account, his paintings enact a process of grasping—an attempt to hold onto moments, people, and sensations that inevitably shift or fade. For a long period, Laidlaw focused on architectural subjects, painting buildings and cityscapes with precision and sensitivity. When the city streets he once depicted became emptied of human presence, his work shifted intuitively toward the figure. This transition brought a new emotional charge to his practice, embedding human forms within layered fields of mark‑making and deepening his exploration of memory, perception, and the tension between presence and absence. ...
