On Practice: Mary Lou Lawless-Gill
Posted on 13 August 2026
On Practice is a series featuring Castlefield Gallery Associates members, offering a glimpse into the ideas, processes and questions shaping their work right now. Through these reflections we get to know the people behind the artistic practice, how they think, and what they’re currently exploring. This month we interviewed Mary Lou Lawless-Gill.
How would you describe your practice in one sentence?
I am a painter whose work attempts to explore urban life through constructed scenes that sit between memory, observation, and fiction.
What questions or ideas are shaping your work at the moment?
I recently did a series of work based around this concept coined by the Beatnik Poet Ed Sanders called Goof City. It describes an imagined, anarchic and peaceful society, a warless “city on the hill” centred on laughter, art, and community.
What’s something you wish you’d known earlier?
That you don’t have to struggle to make good work.
What aspect of the Castlefield Gallery Associates membership are you most looking forward to engaging with?
I have already had the pleasure of attending some of the artist talks offered through my
membership with Castlefield Gallery. Moving forward, I would like to engage more with the
one-to-one sessions and group critiques. Since graduating, I have felt the loss of the community and dialogue that came with regularly sharing work. Those opportunities provided valuable perspective, challenged my assumptions, and helped me develop a broader understanding of my practice. Re-establishing that sense of exchange is something I am particularly keen to pursue.
What are you hoping to explore or develop next?
I feel as though I am on a continual journey of exploring both the people and spaces I have
occupied and those I have yet to encounter. I am interested in observing others and, through that process, finding reflections of myself within them. This is something I hope to pursue for as long as possible, as it lies at the heart of my practice. Watching films, listening to music, and engaging with other forms of art are all part of a search for the basic truths of what it means to be a person. I cannot say exactly how these experiences will manifest in my paintings, but I hope that this ongoing exploration will, in some way, be reflected within them.
One thing inspiring you right now?
Wan Kai Wai’s Films.
A place that feeds your creativity?
Anywhere where people congregate; bars, cafes, parks…
A tool, habit, or ritual you rely on?
Conversations with friends and family
Website
maryloulawlessgill.co.ukImages Courtesy of the Artist:
- Title: A Bottle of Beer A Sweetheart A Package of Cigarettes A Candle (2026) Oil on Canvas 162 x 123cm
- Revolutionary Letters (2025) Oil on Canvas 300 x 203cm
- You Have Been Pardoned Miraculously! (2026) Oil on Canvas 65 x 120cm
