Laird Campbell is a very vital 77 year old artist. He is vibrant, spontaneous and complex, and keenly interested in the world around him.
Laird was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1944. He came to Canada in 1965 to become a freelance Exhibition and Display Artist in Montreal, where he worked the World’s Fair - Expo ’67.
Laird is a true authentic. He was a wild and creative force in the 60’s and 70’s and recounts wonderful tales about his experiences as a young man in London and in Montreal. His stories give one a real feel of the excitement and freedom of the time!
Laird was the first artist to live in Victoria, BC’s, Chinatown, where, in 1971, he made his art studio in Fan Tan Alley. He worked in photography, bronze, and paper, and also was a freelance sign-maker. Some of his wooden and bronze signs still hang outside Victoria buildings today.
In 1994 Laird moved with me, Brenda Laine, his wife, to mid-Vancouver island where we purchased the “Arrowview Hotel”, a 20,000 square foot building, built in 1928 of first-growth Douglas Fir. The building offered the space and privacy that we needed to delve full force into our creative work.
Laird was inspired by the wood of the old building, and he dismantled parts of it to make furniture, and then used the wood to develop a whole new style of artwork.
Laird calls these works “Wood Assemblages”. They are abstract and suggestive compositions made through the manipulation of geometry by piecing together numerous various-sized pieces of wood.
Laird seldom shows his work in commercial galleries but every ten years or so he hosts an art show or party to “show off.” He has also mounted several public exhibitions wherein his work has been purchased by private collectors.
In 2008, Laird and I moved to Cowichan Station, a rural setting just south of Duncan, where we work in our separate studios, live life together and inspire one another to create.