Laurie Vincent
BIOGRAPHY
EXHIBITIONS
Laurie Vincent (b. 1992, Kent, UK) lives and works in Tunbridge Wells. He spent two angst-riddled years studying art at UCA Rochester and Maidstone (both since closed).
A strong childhood determination to be a musician saw him proudly tell his course leader he was “quitting to be in a band” half way through the first year of his degree. This sentiment was greeted with a sarcastic “good luck”.
Two years later, after dividing his time between band practice, gigs, working at a milkshake shop and at his uncles’ timber yard, he signed a major record label deal with his band Slaves.
In the following five years he released three top ten albums and received a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize, won two NME awards, collaborated with Gorillaz, Chase & Status and Slowthai, and played a host of concerts and music festivals worldwide.
Art has always been present in Laurie’s life and he’s designed all single tour posters, album covers and merchandise. During some downtime after the release of his first album Are You Satisfied?, he returned to the canvas after receiving a set of oil paints and an easel for a birthday present.
Since that moment he has gone on to exhibit work in multiple group and solo shows. He has also collaborated with a number of brands including Lazy Oaf, Vans, Cheap Monday and Adidas. His work features in the forthcoming Gorillaz 20th Anniversary art book which is set for release this year.
Begrudgingly known as a ‘multi-hyphenate’, Vincent has also had two clothing lines one of which was stocked in Selfridges. Recently he has been combining his love of art and skateboarding with his new brand TINA… (This Is Not A…). He has a passion for photography and has heavily documented his life since the inception of his band. He records intimate moments on tour and his home life.
Laurie is also one half of synth/pop band LARRY PINK THE HUMAN which sees Vincent take the role of front man. The band is currently working on their first studio album, a follow up to 2021’s M1XTAPE.
Laurie Vincent's new body of work, It's Been a Fever Dream opens on May 19th, 2022, at Whistleblower Gallery.
SOLO SHOW
2022
It's Been a Fever Dream, Whistleblower Gallery, May 19 - June 16, Brighton
2017
Loose with Laurie Vincent, Hoxton Arches, London
2016
Disillusioned, Flaubert Gallery, Edinburgh
Pop up, Amersham Arms, London
GROUP SHOW
2018
White + Black, Whistleblower Gallery, March/April, Brighton, UK
2017
Here we go!, Whistleblower Gallery, Brighton and Hove
Paint by Numbers magazine launch, Studio 24, Leeds
2016
Group show, W Hotel Leicester Square, London
2015
Group show, A-side B-side Gallery, London
AVAILABLE WORK
We sometimes have other available works by Laurie Vincent, or can accept commissions. Please get in touch if you want to know more.
SOLD WORK
We sometimes have other available works by Ryan Callanan, or can accept commissions. Please get in touch if you want to know more.
INTERVIEW
A conversation with Laurie Vincent
by Dan Hipkin
Hello Laurie. Thanks for meeting with me today.
A pleasure.
I would like to talk a little bit about your music career of course, but I know you primarily as a visual arts’ artist so I think it would be nice to start with that. What is the earliest memory you have about painting, or drawing… or doodling?
Every time me and my sister were bored, my mum just gave us a pot of pens and some paper, and we drew around the kitchen table; that’s quite a strong memory I have.
Was that an older or younger sister?
An older sister. She was a much better artist than me. She was a natural. This was pre-internet era, of course, just before it all started digitally, so it’s nice to have a memory of us being manually busy.
What early memory you have of a visual influence or an artist that may have called your attention as a young man?
Well… I wasn’t mad about watching cartoons, I was more into kids’ shows that had actors in them or whatever. But I liked painting in an abstract style. My mum would draw or get us to draw a line with a black pen and then squiggle around it and we’d be colouring the gaps; it was quite a free-style approach and I really enjoyed that. I then used to draw knights and my Lego… all that!
Is anyone in your family a creative person who may have influenced you?
My mum is very good at crafts and she knits and does crochet and all that type of thing. She’s a very good gardener too, actually, which is very creative, laying out the garden and making it look attractive… She used to knit on her way to school, which is quite funny, she used to walk and knit. She also made her own clothes. My sister has always been naturally good at playing music too, the piano and the clarinet, and also as I said before, quite good at drawing. I think there’s definitely a creative bloodline there…
What was it like growing up in Maidstone, Kent. Do you feel it influenced you at all, in terms of needing to express yourself in a certain way?
Well, I didn’t really want to live there… I wanted to go out and experience more. I got that idea probably from watching music videos and seeing other people travelling around the world… there were no concerts in Maidstone! I always wanted to be elsewhere so I guess that led my inspiration to make music.
I’ve been playing the guitar since I was ten. I remember thinking I was all right when I was 15. I started my current band when I was turning 19.