March 20, 2012
artist dane lovett
Dane Lovett only graduated from his fine art degree in 2004 but he has already racked up a series of scholarships and shows. In 2008 he was the recipient of the Clayton Utz Travelling Scholarship. The following year Dane was a finalist in the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize. His work has hung in several exhibitions, including at Chalk Horse in Sydney, and in 2010 he was the recipient of the 2010 RBS Emerging Artist Award. Last year he exhibited at fashion store Colette in Paris and completed a residency in Japan. On March 27 he will open his next exhibition at Sullivan+Strumpf in Sydney.
How did you get your career start and what path have you taken since? My dad gave me my first paint brush and a tube of orange paint - which I ate. My family are rather arty and have always been very supportive. I started out studying design but fairly quickly shifted to painting. I got a lot out of moving to Melbourne a few years back to do some more study, I met some good people and my work really developed out of this.
What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? You can’t be good at everything. Some things you just have to accept mediocrity no matter how hard you try. Like playing music or being a handyman - I’m rubbish at both but I really appreciate that others can do them so well.
What’s your proudest career achievement? I felt pretty proud showing my work at Colette last year. It was my first time showing overseas and something I want to do a lot more of. They even had blue, smoking, vodka numbers at the opening. It was ace - I froze my throat.
What’s been your best decision? To let the dog sleep in the bed. She’s like a furry hot water bottle.
Who inspires you? My friends, my girlfriend, people that make cool stuff, people that can write well.
What are you passionate about? Well art is number one... I'm into it the same way I was obsessed with Playstation and BMX as a kid. Basically it's what I spend the most time reading about online and in magazines, and the first thing I do whenever I go somewhere new is to check out the galleries. Lately though I've been loving New Scientist magazine, I wouldn't say science is a passion of mine but more a vague non-specialist love.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? It’s a tough one but I think I’d like to have a chat to David Hockney; I like the way he works.
What dream do you still want to fulfil? There are plenty of dreams but right now I’d like to pack my bags and visit a few places. A trip to The Kimberly and a Scandinavian adventure are right up there on my list.
What are you reading? I’m listening to Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in the studio. I just got the latest issue of Turps-Banana too (such a terrific painting mag).
images courtesy of dane lovett