So who, or what, is Daisy Laing?

It’s a question I’ve been asked many times. The answer? It doesn’t really matter. Is Daisy Laing a place then? Well, it has been at times, but its more a state of mind, an approach, an attitude.

When I started Daisy Laing, I created the name to give myself some freedom and room to move, both physically and creatively. Sometimes Daisy Laing has been an alter ego, or a pseudonym, sometimes its been a physical space, but not always the same space. But what it has always been has been a way of opening doors, creating space and if not breaking rules, then at least ignoring them.

'Daisy Laing' began life as a vintage and mid-century furniture store, first online and then as a small unit in Penzance's Chapel Street, Antiques Arcade, and it was always an intention to create a space which combined classic modern furniture design with exciting contemporary art.

I spent several years living in New York and this was where my love of mid-century modern furniture and vintage homewares really blossomed. I enjoyed searching the thrift and vintage stores of the Lower East Side, as well as the yard sales of Upstate New York. I was also excited by the way retail and creative arts spaces could be combined and it was this boldness and independent spirit that inspired me to set up 'Daisy Laing' in Penzance.

Before founding 'Daisy Laing', I worked as a TV producer for many years and always enjoyed collaborating with other creatives, supporting and facilitating them to tell their story and have their say and this informs the way I work with artists who show in the gallery spaces and projects I work with. I hope that 'Daisy Laing' is much more than just a white wall space or just another commercial Cornish Gallery. I like to think of it as a creative home for many of our returning artists.

Living in Cornwall, close to the sea and with the natural world on our doorstep, it's not hard to be aware of the negative effects of over-consumption on our environment, so I want Daisy Laing to continue to be somewhere that has a positive impact. Cornwall, and Penwith in particular, is certainly creatively stimulating, and for the artists we work with it's my hope that Daisy Laing creates a space in which they can explore ideas and show work that might not be available elsewhere."

Daisy Laing, whoever, wherever or whatever she may be, has given me creative freedom and as I build out the next stage of Daisy Laing's evolution, that kind of creative freedom is something that I believe is shared with the artists and the wider projects that embrace the Daisy Laing approach.

Always artist focused

At Daisy Laing we are pleased to be able to curate an exciting series of exhibitions by emerging and more established artists. We seek out work that is challenging and innovative and which might not be seen in more established galleries. We work with a range of local and internationally recognised artists and over the past few years we have been proud to show work by Tim Ridley, James Johnston, Jesse Leroy Smith, Jethro Jackson, Kate Walters, A Todd, Ben Davies, Camilla Dixon, Ken Turner, Fran Rowse, Tamzin Drew, Yolanta Gawlik, Tony Shiels, Judy Clark, Claire Benson, Toby O'Brien, Marie-Claire Hamon, Natalia Hamon, Catherine Harvey Jefferson, Theo Carter-Weber, Louise Wright, Dooomed, Helena Clarke and Elizabeth Saskia Langley to name a few.