DAN LANE
DAN LANE INTHE EMPTY SPACES
Internationally collected contemporary artist Dan Lane presents In The Empty Spaces ; a collection that questions the nuances associated with empty spaces; are they actually empty, or do they hold real substance as a foil to the elements that sit adjacent to them? Do they serve as shadows to cast light on the intended recipients of our attention? This body of work explores that very concept, as we see the artist embrace a fresh stylistic concept. Bold colours sing from these new works, in a marked departure fromDan’s previously favoured palette of gun metal and subdued, natural hues. This colour spectrum is unabashedly light and bright, and highlights Dan’s recent research into colour theory. Much of this new direction can be attributed to Dan’s personal experience during lockdown – in addition to feeling instinctively that he needed to create pieces that radiated life and vibrancy, he was also heavily influenced by the swathes of street art he discovered during his daily walks with his wife. Graffiti, by its nature, claims the unclaimed. Its transformative qualities breathe new life into formerly empty spaces, a trait that Dan felt particularly keenly when he first visited the famous Leake St Arches underneath London’s Waterloo station. Here the city’s longest graffiti wall is a dedicated space that has made its name as a democratic cultural venue for street art. Dan recalls the feeling of viewing street art as a sum of its parts for the first time: “The build-up of layers struck me. Some graffiti artists will do a whole mural, but then you also notice everyone’s put their little tag on there or something, and you get that accumulation of slightly different styles. When you take the time to look, you realise they look cool because it’s not contrived - the second or third artists put their take on it without really taking into consideration the original creator’s colours or designs; they just do their own thing. The end result is walls that look cool because they’re so random, and that inspired the look I was going for with this collection.” Enthused by the scope that this approach would lend to his artwork, Dan embarked upon a period of research into street art and mural artists, eventually discovering PichiAvo. Based in Valencia, Spain, this artistic duo specialise in ‘creating connections between painting and sculpture in urban settings’ – a mode that chimed resoundingly with Dan’s own style, as did their works that combined the classical with the contemporary.
Suitably inspired, Dan embarked upon a considerable period of development in his studio, sketching and experimenting with designs before he felt clear on the direction he would need to take in order to build the requisite layers into these artworks. Having established his process, he began each piece by carving the overall shape he wanted out of a high density foam, which would serve as a base for the subsequent assemblage of resin layers. Working with individual sheets of resin, heated and moulded - or cut by his digital milling machine - Dan manipulated all the elements perfectly to spec, before experimenting with the placement of each one to form the pieces in this collection. He worked by eye, guided only by the aesthetic he had first envisaged when viewing the graffiti that caught his imagination. Once the assembly phase was complete, and Dan had achieved the structural composition he intended, the process of adding colour began. After applying a layer of primer, he soon discovered that giving his sculptures a coat of light khaki base gave any ensuing colours an added prominence. Transitioning between using complementary colours and the application of colours intended to clash, Dan began to navigate instinctively through his new foray into colour. Every single element within the completed pieces received upwards of four coats of paint, to achieve the depth of pigmentation that Dan wanted. An equal amount of thought and care went into the boards on which each sculpture is mounted. Staying true to his preferred glossy black finish, Dan upped the ante by lightly echoing the graffiti motifs using aerosols to spray designs onto the boards by hand before sealing with a new resin – one chosen for the smoky quality it has once dried, giving a tinted glass feel to the final presentation. Viewed in its entirety, this collection conjures up a feel of the famous Día de los Muertos festival that originated inMexico, but is now celebrated annually across Latin America. The skulls and bright colours in Dan’s work resonate with the iconography that is central to this festival, where skulls can be seen in decorations, costumes and confectionary, and everywhere is adorned with beautifully bright floral displays and garlands, in an explosion of colour and life-affirming joy. Opting to showcase his new style of layered graffiti sculptures through the shape of a skull, gun and heart symbolically mirrors the festival’s purpose of celebrating both life and death simultaneously. Additionally, the theme of empty spaces is particularly relevant in this context, as the occasion is one for celebrating the departed rather thanmourning their absence; moreover, it is seen as the day when families are reunited with loved ones who have passed, thus filling the void they left behind after their death. Empty spaces nomore. In The Empty Spaces signals a new age for Dan Lane and a change of artistic pace. As he continues to evolve, experiment and challenge himself, we look forward to seeing what - as yet unimagined - creative expressions are to follow.
Look IntoMy Eyes I Original Wall Sculpture 85cm x 101cm | £7,950
Unframed Boxed Canvas Print with Hand Varnish Image Size 76cm x 91cm | Edition of 295 | £695
In The Empty Spaces Set of 2 Limited Edition Boxed Canvas Prints | £1,250
Look IntoMy Eyes II Original Wall Sculpture 85cm x 101cm | £7,950
Unframed Boxed Canvas Print with Hand Varnish Image Size 76cm x 91cm | Edition of 295 | £695
In The Empty Spaces Set of 2 Limited Edition Boxed Canvas Prints | £1,250
“My work has become more colourful thanks to developing this graffiti concept. But perhaps it’s also down to the world feeling like a brighter place now - everything’s a bit more powerful, that bit more hopeful…”
Look IntoMy Eyes III Original Wall Sculpture 95cm x 112cm | £7,950
Look IntoMy Eyes IV Original Wall Sculpture 95cm x 112cm | £7,950
“This is a passion project, it’s been slowly growing in my mind for years, and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what I could do with three-dimensional graffiti. I will definitely continue to experiment with shapes, image depth and colour - there’s endless possibility here.”
All Heart Original Wall Sculpture 90cm x 90cm | £7,950
Big Bang Original Wall Sculpture 120cm x 80cm | £8,950
“When I see people looking at my artworks, they tend to walk round them, crane their necks, view them frommultiple angles. They don’t just stand in front of them, they interact with them, and that’s what it’s all about for me.”
BIOGRAPHY
Born: 1980, Kent
Exhibitions: - Summer Exhibition (Castle Fine Art, Mayfair, 2014) - Every Piece Of Me (Castle Fine Art, Mayfair, 2015) - Unchained (Village Underground, Shoreditch, 2017) Dan Lane’s former career as an engineer has afforded him a particular proficiency at constructing concepts into physical creations. His constant research, development and experimentation with methods and materials, coupled with his ability to blend thematic elements, results in work that is simultaneously stylistically distinct and ever-evolving. His latest collection, Coalesce, typifies exactly that strength within Dan as an artist. This body of original works is an amalgamation of past learnings and a future direction, which affords his collectors several brand new additions to Dan’s portfolio. For the first time ever, we see images used as backdrops, a greater focus on finishes and textures and component parts crafted using a cold casting technique.
DAN LANE
The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. © Washington Green 2021. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission. washingtongreen.co.uk
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