greg.thorpe@icloud.com Manchester-based writer, curator, creative producer.
Short Fiction
I have had four short stories published to date, with a fifth appearing later this year.
'1961' appears in 'Transactions of Desire and 'Best British Short Stories 2016'.
'Brompton Cemetery, 2012' appears in 'Dark Habits'.
'My 1980s' appears in Ellipsis: https://www.ellipsiszine.com/my-1980s-by-greg-thorpe/
'Three Sailors' appears in 'Foglifter; (Vol. 4/2)
Artists Rediscovering Salford’s Green Spaces
Essay considering the work of drag artist Cheddar Gorgeous in Salford Museum & Gallery's 'YOU BELONG HERE', part of the Rediscovering Salford project.
Statue to a Critic
‘Pay no attention to what the critics say; there has never been a statue erected to a critic.’ My final article for the Fourdrinier is a wry but affectionate meta-reflection on art writing.
Behind The Times with Sarah Hardacre
Essay introducing an exhibition that I curated with the artist Sarah Hardacre at PAPER Gallery in Summer 2021.
Lady Skollie: Weakest Link at Eastside Projects
I interviewed South African artist Lady Skollie during her show, ‘Weakest Link’, a solo exhibition presented at Eastside Projects Birmingham in 2019. This work appeared in The Fourdrinier online and in their special print edition,
‘It is not an image I am seeking’: 60 years of drawings by Louise Bourgeois
Review of a series of drawings made between 1947–2007 by legendary 20th-century artist, Louise Bourgeois.
Contemporary Portraits: Part One
This two-part article takes a look at contemporary portraiture through the work of six artists, selected for their diversity of style, approach, subject matter and identity.
Contemporary Portraits: Part Two
This is the second instalment of a two-part article focusing on the uses of portraiture in the work of six contemporary artists.
Superbia Spotlights: DJ Mix-Stress of RebeccaNeverBecky
An interview with DJ Mix-Stress of Manchester-based events collective RebeccaNeverBecky for Manchester's Finest online magazine.
Short Supply presents ‘Queer Contemporaries’
Interview with curator Mollie Balshaw of Short Supply ahead of new art show 'Queer Contemporaries'.
‘I like to think of the surface of the paper as a membrane’ – Five Minutes With Rachel Goodyear
Artist Rachel Goodyear speaks to Greg Thorpe about snow-topped mountains and the imagined space beyond the surface of the page.
‘A hand-cut line cannot be created by a mouse’– Five Minutes With DR.ME
DR.ME is the collaborative design practice of Ryan Doyle (DR) and Mark Edwards (ME), with clients including Tate Modern, Levi’s and Sony Records. Here they speak to Greg Thorpe about their interest in collage, the realness of paper, and the almost religious experience of listening to Charlie Bones on NTS every morning.
‘Lockdown is profoundly inward facing’ – Five Minutes With Lowri Evans
Artist Lowri Evans likes paper so much she has danced on it and set fire to it. Greg Thorpe catches up with the international artist during a lockdown heavy with ideas.
‘Trying to get away from the idea of making “good” images’ – Five Minutes With Owen Herbert
Artist Owen Herbert originates ideas and strategies on paper before moving from sketch into sculpture and latterly, sound. Here, he speaks to Greg Thorpe about taking casts of rainfall and the lure of cheap paper.
Quarantine writing #2: Quarantine, synchronicity, queer spirit
Based on a series of real-life coincidences, I reflect on recent memories, future hopes, the bending of time, and 'queer spirit'. Written with the generous assistance of the artists AL & AL.