Angela Lane
AQ is our series of hardcover catalogs celebrating extraordinary women artists. Available on Amazon. Visit the AQ Catalog Webpage to learn more.
AQ Volume IV artist Angela Lane holds a B.F.A. with Distinction from Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 2007, and obtained her MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, in 2011. The artist was selected to participate in the 2021 London Art Biennial. In 2011, she was recognized as MICA’s 2011 nominee for the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. In 2007, Lane was selected as the Alberta finalist in the 2007 BMO Painting Competition in Canada.
angelalane.ca
What inspired you to become an artist, and how did you decide to commit to this path?
My interest started in high school. I had an amazing art teacher who introduced me to the art world. She encouraged the best in everyone. I didn’t know I could draw until this point. Since this time, I was hooked.
Could you share the story or concept behind your recent work?
In my work, I am using quilting as a metaphor, offering a way in for the construction of my work. It draws on inspiration from a variety of influences negotiated with contemporary painting. This metaphor is deliberately ambiguous, allowing for, and even encouraging the simultaneous consideration of opposing points of view of the connections in the work.
I am interested in the conversation between visual experiences found in the domestic environment or interior design, the history and language of painting, geometric designs, and architecture. I am challenged to negotiate these ideas within the parameters of the painting. These works strive to be an amalgamation of abstraction, illusion, decorative, concrete form, and geometric design. This is our contemporary notion of sampling or hybridity. In the end, the works created are a fusion of ideas forced together into an original choreography.
What was the most challenging part of your path so far? How are you navigating this obstacle?
The most challenging thing so far has been pursuing my education and art practice while supporting and caring for my two children. Now that they are grown, I have a lot more time to dedicate to my work.
What role does experimentation and exploration play in your artistic practice?
The concept of free play is very important in my work. In undergrad, I was introduced to the book Free Play: The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts by Nachmanovitch, Stephen. Since this point, I use play as a path to creation. Starting with no expectations allows me to experiment and let the ideas flow. Some ideas are good, and some are not. It is an avenue to begin working without fear.
Share a mantra or favorite quote that keeps you going.
My art preceptor told me once, if I’m not having fun with what I am doing, then it’s not worth doing.
