Known for his refined and meticulous paintings, William Lane’s recent work continues his exploration of reductive and meditative abstractions.  While he does work within that territory of formal minimalist painting, Lane’s paintings always suggest a very human presence.  Lane’s compositions are often influenced by the places he has visited, especially the architecture, but really it is something about the spirit of a place that speaks to him and becomes the stimulus for translating his observations to paint.  His new work has been greatly influenced by recent travels to Japan where the artist found a sensibility that shares much in common with his own innate sense of serenity, contemplation and balance.  Ultimately for Lane it comes down to color.  Through color he finds form and meaning.  Color is his guide through the conflict and uncertainty of the studio, and finally it is color that leads him to harmony and resolution.

Lane writes of his new work, “My painting is about colors and how they interact with each other. I work towards a structural, color filled space. Generally, I start with rectangular divisions and blocks of color. The initial surface divisions are repainted, rescaled and adjusted as they fill with color, and this color development becomes the life of the painting. I strive for a resolution of tensioned balance and physical presence.

‘…sources of inspiration…often lie within my embodied memories of places I once visited and people and things I once encountered.’   ~ Tadao Ando, Architect

“Memories are the subjects of much of my paintings. While the exuberant colors experienced in Mexico continue to influence my work, recent trips to Kyoto, Japan have provided me with new perspectives.

“My perceptual experiences of Japanese aesthetics have accumulated over the course of my visits. I am fascinated by the restraint and refinement of the traditional houses, the profound landscape design of the gardens, the tactile surfaces of the materials as well as the beauty of simplicity and subtlety. All these are persuasive, powerful, and inspiring and they are complementary to many of my own formal inclinations.”

William Lane is a graduate of U.C.L.A., receiving his M.A. there in 1961, and has exhibited extensively since.  He has been a professor of art at various institutions, a curator, and has been the recipient of an N.E.A. grant. His work is included in museum, corporate and private collections.

For further information, please contact:  Jeff Gambill, Director (310) 829-0345.