Gregory Malphurs Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory member provides some fascinating insights into his practice and experience a surreal artist, as he responds to the questions below:
- What is the biggest change you’ve made to your art practice since you started, and why?
- If you could create one more work, what would you like that work to say?
- What impact has your upbringing and cultural background had on your work, and how has it influenced your approach and aesthetic?
- What motivates you to keep going even when sales are slow or you hit a creative block?
What is the biggest change you’ve made to your art practice since you started, and why?
I’ve been making art since I could hold a pencil. I grew up in my grandfather’s painting studio, so creating has always been part of my life it’s never felt like something I “started,” just something that’s always been there. There’ve been countless shifts along the way, but recently I’ve been moving in a direction that feels like a real turning point.
I’ve always felt a pull toward abstraction, even though I’ve worked primarily as a figurative painter. I didn’t fully understand how abstract work was constructed or maybe I just hadn’t found my own way into it. That changed this fall when I was commissioned to create a portrait that also incorporated abstract elements. It required a lot of trust from the collector, especially since I was honest about not knowing exactly how I was going to approach it.
The result surprised both of us in the best way. That piece opened something up for me. I’ve already started building on it, exploring new ways to bring abstraction and figuration into conversation with each other. It’s a major shift, and it feels like the start of a new chapter.
If you could create one more work, what would you like that work to say?
I tend to resist the idea of assigning a fixed meaning to my work. What matters more to me is what the viewer sees in it—how it makes them feel, what it stirs up.
Art should create space for personal interpretation. I’d much rather hear what a piece says to someone else than try to dictate its message. So if I had one more work to make, I’d want it to speak in a way that invites curiosity and emotional response—whatever that might look like for the person standing in front of it.
What impact has your upbringing and cultural background had on your work, and how has it influenced your approach and aesthetic?
I grew up in two very different worlds. On one side, I had my grandfather’s painting studio in Miami—a place full of color, experimentation, and total creative freedom. On the other side was home, which was shaped by strict religion. My father was a pastor and a religious college professor, so there were a lot of rules, a lot of structure.
In contrast, the studio felt limitless. It was the place where I first understood what freedom could feel like. That early experience really shaped how I work today. My art has become a space where I can reject boundaries and explore without restriction. It’s where I unlearned the idea that everything needs to have a clear answer or follow a rigid framework.
That push and pull between structure and freedom still informs how I think about painting, and probably always will.
What motivates you to keep going even when sales are slow or you hit a creative block?
This is my life. I don’t think of making art as something optional, and I’ve never seriously considered stopping—not even during the slow periods.
Strangely, I’ve never really experienced a creative block. I think that’s partly because I don’t pressure myself to constantly produce. I see my work through a long lens it’s something I’m building over decades. Sales can come and go, but they don’t define my relationship to the work. The motivation comes from the act of making itself.
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