Dan Yoshii is pleased to present Play, a series of paintings and works on paper by Los Angeles–based artist Michael McGregor. Through vivid oil paintings and quick, instinctive sketches, McGregor re-imagines the still life as a lens on contemporary culture - one shaped by travel, consumption, memory, and repetition. From athletes and cigarettes to movie scenes and iconic branding, his imagery captures the rhythms and fixations of modern life with precision and wit. McGregor merges observation and everyday scenes, reworking them to bold, stylized images that strike a balance between spontaneity and precision.
Much of Play unfolds across found hotel paper - scraps pulled from notepads, envelopes, and memos from storied establishments such as Le Meurice in Paris and the Carlton in Cannes. These surfaces, casually collected and impulsively drawn upon, speak to a transient way of living: art made in airports, in hotel beds, in the solitude of travel. The modest scale and impermanence of the materials invite immediacy and urgency, resisting refinement in favor of spontaneity. These are not studio-bound creations, but snapshots of a world in motion - art made in passing, with instinct as its guide.
What threads together McGregor’s seemingly varied subjects of luxury watches, McDonald’s fries, and scenes from films is his amplification of the ordinary. Using flat fields of color, exaggerated line, and a deliberately graphic style, he renders familiar imagery with new intensity. Each piece reads like a moment suspended—distinct yet connected—unfolding like frames from a fragmented memory. Together, they map a cultural landscape defined by distraction, repetition, and desire.
Play is an expressive meditation on how objects, bodies, and symbols function in our daily lives. The exhibition offers a loose and dynamic exploration of identity, desire, and spectacle. The result is a collection of works that feel both impulsive and intentional, creating a vivid, fragmented portrayal of a world observed in motion - a world in play.
Much of Play unfolds across found hotel paper - scraps pulled from notepads, envelopes, and memos from storied establishments such as Le Meurice in Paris and the Carlton in Cannes. These surfaces, casually collected and impulsively drawn upon, speak to a transient way of living: art made in airports, in hotel beds, in the solitude of travel. The modest scale and impermanence of the materials invite immediacy and urgency, resisting refinement in favor of spontaneity. These are not studio-bound creations, but snapshots of a world in motion - art made in passing, with instinct as its guide.
What threads together McGregor’s seemingly varied subjects of luxury watches, McDonald’s fries, and scenes from films is his amplification of the ordinary. Using flat fields of color, exaggerated line, and a deliberately graphic style, he renders familiar imagery with new intensity. Each piece reads like a moment suspended—distinct yet connected—unfolding like frames from a fragmented memory. Together, they map a cultural landscape defined by distraction, repetition, and desire.
Play is an expressive meditation on how objects, bodies, and symbols function in our daily lives. The exhibition offers a loose and dynamic exploration of identity, desire, and spectacle. The result is a collection of works that feel both impulsive and intentional, creating a vivid, fragmented portrayal of a world observed in motion - a world in play.
