“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Lawrence Carroll, who suddenly passed away this morning, Tuesday 21st May, at the age of 65.
He leaves behind an intimate and melancholic body of work, a unique testimony of both a creative and deconstructive time. In his paintings, which often morph into objects, humble materials, forgotten fragments and the passing of time always leave their mark on the canvas. They are continuously being reinvented as every brushstroke erases the precedent. For Lawrence Carroll, creativity lay within a lengthy process of concentration and contemplation: he constructed an intimate connection with his work until it, in effect, slowly revealed itself to him. The Galerie Karsten Greve has had the privilege of collaborating and promoting his sensitive and subtle oeuvre since 1999.
Moments, his last solo exhibition, opens on Friday at our gallery in Cologne.” –Galerie Karsten Greve
And Peter Frank wrote on Facebook,
“Lawrence’s passing would be a great loss even if it weren’t so untimely. He was one of my favorite artists, not least because I had an unwitting hand in getting him his start. In October or November of 1987 Stefan Stux and I went out to judge a show in Newark. We entered the space, looked around, and both instantly settled upon a small group of what seemed like distorted, abject boxes and/or stretched canvases. Brief closer inspection convinced us both that, with nothing else in the show seen, these irresistible objects had to be first place. We then went around choosing the rest of the show and its lesser winners — although I had to keep Stefan on project, as he kept drifting back to those charming, sensuous canvas-thingies.
I left the building knowing I’d hear from that artist again. Stefan left the building determined to find that artist and exhibit him. Lawrence owed his launch to Stefan, but it was nice to play a supporting role. Years later, when I recounted the story to Lawrence, he told me he almost didn’t make it to the competition; the truck he was driving broke down I believe just the other side of the Holland Tunnel (or in it? nah…) and he barely had enough money to get it up and running again.” –Peter Frank
I knew Lawrence’s work from designing the catalogue for that first Stux gallery show over 30 years ago.
Sadly, the galley’s website still says the preview for “Moments” on Friday, May 24, 2019, 6 – 8 p.m. will be
“in the presence of the artist.”
It won’t be.
Lawrence Carroll was 65.
