Kerikeri-based artist Bruce MacGregor has been drawing and painting from memory since he was four years old. His earliest lessons came from his father, who taught him to draw as a way of understanding the world; a skill that soon became a lifelong passion.
Though largely self-taught, Bruce has refined his practice over decades, working across a range of mediums and learning from master printmakers like Perry Davies and Dan Weldon (Long Island University, New York), whose mentorship deepened his understanding of technique and material. He has experimented with all manners of paints, dyes, stains, mixed media, metal and timber; always seeking new ways to express life as he experiences it. For Bruce, line, colour, texture, abstraction, and sculpture are all tools of creative communication. His pieces often evoke a quiet intensity: moments suspended in time, places remembered, and emotional atmospheres captured with subtlety and restraint.
Bruce’s work explores the relationships between space, memory, and mood. He often returns to themes of solitude, interiors, and the coastal environment of the Far North. His approach is intuitive, layered, and emotionally resonant. Bruce has exhibited widely across Aotearoa, and his art is held in both private and public collections.
Click on the images below to see enlargements of some of his work.
Bruce will be exhibiting at stop 24 during KOAST 2025 - buy a KOAST Trail Guide for further details!
