Dane Lovett: Here or Somewhere Like Here

Melbourne/Naarm-based artist Dane Lovett is well-loved for his beguiling, delicate and meticulous approach to mark making. His new exhibition, Here or Somewhere Like Here at Sullivan+Strumpf builds upon this with compelling new forms of growth and development in his approach and methodology.

By Tess Maunder

At once nostalgic and contemporary, Lovett is known for his refined and controlled, yet teetering-on-pseudogrungy approach to painting. He produces swarming monotone palettes which focus on timeless memento mori motifs such as still-life flowers, pollen and grass. However, don’t be fooled, the work is not as straightforward as a photorealistic depiction of flowers on canvas. No, usually the imagery depicted is done so for both its universal and individual candour, alongside an energetic and experimental approach to both image-making and depth.

Dane Lovett, Pearls, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas 120 x 100 cm

Casually obsessive is how I would describe Dane Lovett’s approach to practice to date, indeed, the artist merges what we might describe as a hazy, misty or even veiled, formal realist technique, with a limited and refined palette to flatten the field. The work is further complicated through his approach to portraying depth, he obscures either the foregrounds or backgrounds, altering between these in different works and through this, the artist obscures a ‘true’ perception of depth. Through doing so, the artist demonstrates his agility as a painter, and his capacity for building intrigue with audiences.

Here or Somewhere Like Here is the culmination of a season-long slog focusing on experimentation and play conjured up from the depths of winter in Lovett’s studio. Indeed, scale is of particular importance in this exhibition where we see not only the size of the works increase, but so too, a focus on what we might describe as microscapes, zoomed-in and cropped snapshots of the moments of the everyday: grass, flowers, but not as you have seen before. The movement of wind in blades of grass has been captured with a moody depth, conveyed through darker colours, almost like night-vision, ultraviolet or infrared.

Dane Lovett, Alta Vista, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas 180 x 150 cm

does this remind me of something familiar and earthly, or is it interiorly alien? Everyday mundanity or science-fiction? Innocent or sinister?

This reduction in palette removes a lot of the context of the imagery and instead, I think, builds greater tension in the work. It leaves audiences thinking, ‘does this remind me of something familiar and earthly, or is it interiorly alien? Everyday mundanity or science-fiction? Innocent or sinister?’ It is almost like we are witnessing the subject in the depth of night, and with this comes a psychological tension. This tension is brought to the fore by the binary nature of colour depiction used by the artist. The use of a reduced palette with a focus on contrasting vivid blue and bright yellow reminds me of course of Yves Klein but also artists like Italian painter Rudolf Stingel, Swiss artist Pamela Rosenkranz, and even early works by Australian artist Linde Lee, each exploring the intensity present in focusing on a depiction of blue.

Dane Lovett, Gabber Gabber Gabber Apocalypse (detail), 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas 200 x 160 cm

But perhaps even more interesting is the way that Lovett’s work draws some parallel to the limited colour palette use in film, seen through such legends as Wong Kar-wai, Jean- Luc Godard and Jordan Cronenweth, each has explored the way that a limited palette allows audiences to not only respond to the intended mood of a scene but also take in a range of other sensory details that may be lost in the oversaturated depiction of the world that we are used to.

Exhibition view of Dane Lovett, Here or Somewhere Like Here, Sullivan+Strumpf Sydney.

Photo: Aaron Anderson

Often, the gaze or pictorial approach is from above, perhaps alluding to Lovett’s own moments of encounter in his everyday actions such as walking to and from the studio, no doubt, part of the artistic process. When visiting Lovett’s studio, I asked if the works were indeed meant to be depicting somewhere specific, or nowhere at all. He smiled and said that it wasn’t necessarily his intention to highlight a specific space or place and that ambiguity is the intention, a universal relatedness. He did say though that some of the inspiration for this body of work has come from walking, as a personal relationship with the landscape, or as an everyday means of daily transport.

This is alluded to by the title Here or Somewhere Like Here, which connects us to the everyday and relatable aspect presented in these mini scenes. Walking as an intellectual or artistic practice, as we know, has a deep art historical presence, enabling moments in time where the public has had access to freely move in public space. This is seen by Dadaist excursions in the 1920s right through to contemporary artists today including Janet Cardiff, Richard Long, Regina José Galindo and the Long March Foundation, among many others: walking is rich stimulus.

Dane Lovett, Gabber Gabber Gabber Apocalypse, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas 200 x 160 cm

Earlier works by the artist included desirable yet straightforward abstracted figurative work, responding to ‘the everyday’ as seen through the artist’s city dwelling, urban lifestyle and interests. For instance, earlier work saw still life arrangements from indoor plants and pop-cultural ephemera—VHS cassettes, vinyl records, CDs, ageing tech, all painted in a wide palette and in true saturation. Then, as time went on, the palette reduced and, as more time went on, the depth of the painting reduced to a sophisticated, resolved and characterised methodology and approach by the artist. Most recently, the artist has developed a disciplined, restrained and at times unconventional approach to palette, which has made engaging, compelling and original work that truly sets him apart.

Dane Lovett Mercy and Clover, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas 200 x 160 cm

EXHIBITION: DANE LOVETT, HERE OR SOMEWHERE LIKE HERE, 6 OCT – 12 NOV 2022, S+S SYDNEY

+ TO SEE AVAILABLE WORKS BY DANE LOVETT ACCESS THE VIEWING ROOM BY ENTERING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS bit.ly/dnlovett