Teacher/ Painter/ Minneapolis liver We first saw Gregory's work at Receiver summer 2005 and was blown away. The images below do not do this work justice. It must be seen in person. So when we heard that he's going to be part of a group show at White Walls on June 9th, we thought it would be a good idea for an introduction and see what makes this Minneapolis based artist/ teacher tick... If you live in LA be on the look for his 2007 show at BLK/MRKT

age? Location? favorite caffeinated beverage?
32 years. Minneapolis. coffee.

So you are part of a group show at White Walls that opens June 9th. Tell me about the show.
The fine people at White Walls asked me to have a show after I had showed them some work. I was in town for an show/opening I was having at the Receiver Gallery. I asked them for some good galleries to go see, and they suggested I go see Shooting Gallery, Low, and White Walls. So, I did and I was pretty impressed. It didn't hurt that the day we stopped in to White Walls there was this 12 hour paint-a-thon going on. It made it feel really alive, and the work was great.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town that you might find under a christmas tree just north of Milwaukee. Stage coaches and covered bridges. Great place to grow up.... I wandered fields and made forts in the woods. It was all public land.. Farm Fields, Gravel Pits, and City Dumps... SF has eucalyptus growing wild. So I came.

Schooling?
Right now I am enrolled in the graduate program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Mostly though, it is just a lot of looking around, and a lot of doing work on my own.

Daily routine?
nothing too exciting. wake up, make coffee, check mail, garden, listen to music... and so on.

Tell us the process you go through when creating one of your pieces.
Someone once yelled out to Neil Young in a concert "Hey Neil, It all sounds the same" and Neil yelled back "That's because it is all the same song." I always liked that. I don't change what the work is about from week to week. It has always been about the same thing: Experiencing the space around us. As far as starting the work, I always start very abstractly, making general outlines for spaces. Then, it becomes a matter of building up the surface and defining certain areas of growth and decay. The whole process usually happens in one or two days.

Favorite clothing setup?
I get laughed at quite a bit.. because rebecca will come home and find me painting with nothing on or with some mix of something tied around my waist and pants pulled up above my knees... She says it's like little kids who get so wrapped up in what they are doing that forget they are waring clothes... I agree.. I kind of hate clothes...

Mode of transportation?
This city is not condensed like SF or Manhattan so you can't do it by foot and there is no subway, But there is a great Greenway that we take our bikes on all the time.

Living off your work?
Kind of.. I work on stuff while I teach sometimes. Things are constantly moving forward. I am finally starting to have the shows I organized a year ago.

Ever been on a blind date?
no, I was always kind of shy.

What are you trying to capture with your work? When are you statisfied with a work? How do you work?
I am satisfied when I can sit there and watch it, like one would watch the ocean or a river. Music is very important to the work. I have to start off with something that is going to get things moving (Pedro, I'm Not a Gun, Four Tet) . Because I work for 8 or so hours straight on a work, it is important to match the energy levels with appropriate music. I might start off with a City Center Office and finish with a Kranky or 12K. The music often drives the work to a certain place. I like music more than visual art... possibly because I could never really play piano, or because it is just more flowing. I try to capture the feeling I get while listening to a certain work... Or... the feeling I get when walking through a forrest... it is the same feeling.. and it comes out in the work as a flowing mess of tiny scenes and diagrams. The first two to three hours of working on a painting are pretty fun. It is like a dance.... and everything is unfolding before me on this sheet of paper.. and that is why it gets done again... because that experience of making the landscapes in the image of music and thinking about the history of the space and putting that together with the present ..... nice.

Is it weird for you to be teaching or have you gotten used to it already?
I have been teaching for 9 years.. so it is kind of old hat.. the biggest frustration is that I keep my room like a studio.. and imagine if you had 28 students each hour coming through.. making a mess and leaving it.. It really takes it out of me at the end of the day...

Are you the type of teacher you wanted when you were in school?
Yeah, I suppose.. I had a great high school teacher.. he let me go... I had a corner of the room all to myself.. so that is what I do for my students.. I teach Advanced Placement Studio Art and each student gets his/her own studio within the room.. It looks more like a collage set up than a high school. My theory is to lead by example: Let them be inspired by my actions and my enthusiasm.

What's the art scene in Milwaukee like? I'm sure it's a great place or else you wouldn't have stayed. Did you ever consider moving to NYC, LA, or SF? What kept you there?
Well, I live in Minneapolis, MN.. I grew up in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has a great gallery called Hotcakes that I did a show at a while back, but I don't know much else about Milwaukee's art scene... Moving? ... I never have the nerve to move.... I kind of let life happen to me.. sad, but true. That is my dad's fault.. He drilled practicality into me. I have never been able to shake it. I always make a nest and move out in circles from there... never making jumps. NY, SF, LA... all seem really great and I love visiting, but something keeps me here. I suppose it's small enough to get my mind around.. but all that is changing... so, who knows... five years out.. I may be your neighbor.

You live in the beer capital in the world. Are you drunk now? Ever visit the Pabst Mansion?
Never visited the mansion.. only attended the plays at the theatre. I was just upstairs arranging my studio.... and...... I was having a party coke... Wisconsin was a great place to grow up.. My dad gave me a taste of Red White and Blue when I was like 8. That's probably why I never drank again until I was 22. Now it's all party cokes.

Detail

Name some current artists you're excited about right now.
I have a hard time getting really excited about artists.. Muisc, now that is a different story...I could give you lists and lists. As far as visual artists, I admire sara sze.

Anything you want to add?
I'm Kicking off a new series of works on my website. Each week I will be making a 5 inch x 7 inch work. You will be able to purchase a giclee print of the work for $30. One can sign up for all 6 for $150 saving $30. That is 6 giclee prints in six weeks for $150. The Image will be posted on Monday of each week and there will only be a run of 50. These are going to be really fun to do.. I get a lot of requests for prints... people who are young or people without wall space.. these will work perfectly. I'm still working out details... but I will be on my website in a day or two... www.gregoryeuclide.com

Future?
I have a show at OKOK in Seattle and a show at BLK/MRKT in LA coming up. I also have Grad School to start and of course teaching the youth of MPLS. I am looking forward to making more work and finding new locations to show it. I'm really looking forward to being in SF again.

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