With shows in Berlin, Milan and Sydney, collaborations with Kendall Jenner and Travis Scott, and a career designing for labels such as Camilla & Marc and Ksubi, Meg Gallagher’s professional success transpires from natural talent and trusting the process. 

Today, the visual artist’s ability to translate nature’s rugged beauty and shifting energy into contemporary landscapes has attracted collectors across the globe, bringing a grounding and sensual sensibility to the spaces in which they’re hung. 

“Every day I still can’t believe how lucky I am to do this for a living. It never gets old when a buyer sends me photos of their piece hanging in their home, it is such a beautiful moment. One I’ll forever appreciate.” 

Throughout each collection, Meg’s continuation of layered colour palettes and soft lines derived from her environment can be traced back to her rural upbringing on a farm in the peninsula of Ōtepoti. “They all have this organic energy that can be found in nature. I’ve always had this magnetic pull towards nature and the emotions it brings up.”

Surrounded by vast landscapes in a creative household where making weird and wonderful art was celebrated, painting was an outlet that provided Meg with a sense of serenity. “I was a bit of an anxious kid but when it came to creating art I always had this quiet confidence, it was something I found comfort in.”

When the time came to pursue a tertiary education, Meg was immediately drawn to the practical skills on offer at Otago Polytechnic – that, and the possibility of a scholarship to study in Milan (which she got) – and completed her Bachelor of Design majoring in Fashion Design before emerging as a denim designer. 

“Although I was heavily into painting and textiles, I chose to focus these skills into a career in fashion. So, all through my twenties, I worked for various brands as a designer. I specialised as a denim designer and when I felt the itch to paint again, I started using denim as my canvas. This helped me to create a unique style of my own and I started to sell my pieces globally,” says Meg. 

“I think I was destined to be a painter but in a strange way I think I had to be a designer first to become the artist that I am today. I still imagine my design career will come and go as the opportunities arise but painting is my forever focus as it feels really true to me.”

When working with clients on commissioned pieces, Meg loves learning about what emotions they want the artwork to evoke. “Naturally, this creates a level of emotional responsibility that can at first make me anxious but as soon as I start the piece, I just trust my gut instinct because the client trusted me to do this.”

As for her collections, Meg likes to consider what her community will benefit from coupled with what she’s naturally experiencing around her. To inspire her most recent collection Feels Good for Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne, Australia, Meg requested her social media followers to send in special images of nature that had helped them heal through a tough time. 

“It was such a cathartic process to create this body of work and at its core, was inspired by the passing of my daughter which made it even more meaningful.”

Currently based in New Zealand in a shared studio space called the Crystal Ballroom, Meg is spoilt for inspiration. “I’m constantly noticing new colour combinations that nature brings or sensual curving lines that hills create.”

Next up on the agenda, Meg will be deepening her processes by getting down and dirty with nature and making her own dyes and pigments out at her mum’s farm. There will be new collections and exciting collaborations to keep an eye out for, and bespoke commissions for a few fortunate clients who are building new homes. 

“I feel so lucky and I’ll never take it for granted that’s for sure!”