MacGregor Harp

1981 - 2022

MacGregor Harp

White River Junction, VT - MacGregor Douglas Harp died on August 20, 2022 from pancreatic cancer, the same disease that killed his mother, Susan C. Harp, 17 years ago. He was 41. A painter, sculptor, gallerist, activist, and graphic designer, Mac had recently moved to Montréal.

Mac graduated from California Institute of the Arts in 2006 and began working as a graphic designer in Los Angeles before relocating to New York City. In 2012 he co-founded the NYC based art gallery 247365 with Jesse Greenburg. As a mode of expression, Mac sought out emerging and underrepresented artists from New York and internationally. The 247365 gallery openings drew large crowds, and his meticulous work in constructing welcoming and exciting spaces was well known. During his time as a curator and organizer in the art world, he did everything possible to support his peers.

Although he never concerned himself as much with career as he did with good art and interesting conversation, Mac held many creative positions, including set building for film and video production companies; storyboarding and graphic design; typography and lettering; bookmaking; screenprinting; painting; writing; sculpture; pottery; carpentry and furniture design; winemaking; and organizing and participating in solo and group gallery shows. His finely-honed skills with materials and his love of building led him to join the team that built the lifesize T. rex at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Toward the end of his life, Mac helped build an apartment; a garden/tool shed; several tables for his parents' winery; and a pizza oven from scratch for his family.

Mac was always reading, and had a keen interest in economic and social anthropology; class struggle throughout history; forgotten technologies and their role in sustainable energy and farming practices; post-scarcity economics; and hard science fiction.

An endless font of ideas for new artworks and projects of all kinds, Mac busied himself with organizing events and gatherings that were larger than just himself as an artist. He was willing to work in uncomfortable spaces, flexing and adapting to meet the needs of the project at hand. He had a willingness to improvise, and the ability to create value from anything - to turn any situation into a space for an artwork or idea, or a place to foster relationships. He left behind a prolific volume of work, from floating herb gardens to paintings and sculptures.

Before moving to Montréal, Mac lived and worked in White River Junction, where he set up a studio space in the Main Street Museum and helped conceive of and organize the First Fridays art festivals. He designed, silk-screened, and personally distributed custom posters for each event.

When it came to friends and family, Mac was never too busy to hang out and always gave his undivided attention. He happily took time out of his day, in particular, for his little niece, Willow, who paid weekly visits to his studio. He always had snacks ready and exciting artworks in progress to share. Together they bonded over countless hours spent playing outside, building snow bunnies, reading, drawing, and making faces.

Mac was a fiery and compassionate soul of the American Left. While in White River Junction, he joined the Upper Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Upper Valley Tenants' Union where he was instrumental in one of their largest organizing projects to date, canvassing to organize tenants for local subsidized housing. Thanks to his efforts, several tenants were elected to the board. Inspired by Mac's interest in empowering people to fight back against oppression, after his passing, the Upper Valley Tenants' Union voted to establish a self-defense training course in his honor.

Mac was stridently antiwar and an outspoken opponent of the US for-profit healthcare, prison and military industrial complex. He was a strong advocate for radical land reform, class and media literacy and deproletarianization.

MacGregor Harp is survived by his father and step-mother, Douglas Harp and Susan Salter Reynolds; his brother, Peter, his wife, Guo Jingyao, and their daughter, Willow; his step-siblings, Sam Reynolds and his wife, Mende Yangden, Eleanor Reynolds, and Amelia Reynolds; uncles Andrew Crout and Adam Crout; his aunt, Victoria Harp Drucker and her husband, Reid; his uncle, Jack Harp and his wife, Donna; his uncle, Geoffrey Harp and his wife, Patty; his partner at the time of his death, Ellie Denison; and many cousins in the US, Canada, and Australia.



In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Mac's memory to any of the following:



Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

https://www.pcrf.net/



Medical Aid for Palestinians

https://www.map.org.uk/



Upper Valley DSA:

https://uppervalleydsa.org/donate/