Lane Banks
Untitled 2021.10
Acrylic on canvas
20 x 20 inches
2021

Lane Banks
Untitled 2021.9
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches
2021

Lane Banks
Untitled 2021.5
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 24 inches
2021

Lane Banks
Untitled 2020.13
Acrylic on canvas
20 x 20 inches
2020

Lane Banks
Untitled 2019.4
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 36 inches
2019

Lane Banks
Untitled 2018.10
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 30 inches
2018

My work is insistently abstract, mathematical, conceptual in origin and geometric in appearance. It does not derive from perception, but is entirely constructed from numerical rhythms and proportions; it is concept made visible, a thought construction. The content of the work resides partly within the work itself and partly in the viewer's apprehension of the mathematical structure that is made visible through geometry and not disguised by other subject matter. The industrial color palette is limited to black, various grays, white, and metallics, further distancing the work from observed colors in natural forms. These hues enforce the inherent geometry and are less likely to reference imagery or subject matter outside the concerns of the work. Silver, for example, due to its reflective properties, does not allow the eye to penetrate past its surface into spatial or illusionistic depth, but rather catches light and casts it back into the viewer's space. The hues lend themselves to multiple readings in the relational context of the work; completely separate works placed in close proximity can visually unite across space.

Lately, I have begun working with spectrum colors that have a matte finish. These have been combined with the industrial grays I have been using to create a tension between the spectrum and industrial hues. The contrast between the neutrality of the grays and the brightness or intensity of the spectrum hue creates a tension that often disrupts the stability of the regular geometric components (rectangles or squares). The logical system that governs the composition is countered by the contrast, perhaps even the sensuality, between color and non-color. Some of the spectrum hues have been placed adjacent to either iridescent or matte white, which enhances the quality of a scaffold or construction surrounded by the blankness of space.

Despite the fact that purely abstract art was invented nearly one hundred years ago, many viewers are still resistant to it, still wedded to the notion that art must derive from nature and must contain some vestige of appearance. Even though many of the ideas embodied in my work are not new, they are still challenging to many who believe that art should serve only the eye and not the mind.

The brushwork of the paintings is as flat and anonymous as possible, increasing the distance from the artist's hand toward objectivity and universality.

The work operates in the gulf between the direct experience of the work and the expectations established by the use of geometry. Geometry is inherently presumed to be pure, absolute, and stable, always yielding a predictable outcome. These works show that the use of geometry can result in multiple, unique solutions incorporating variety in a single system. The supposed certainty and absolute purity of geometry is ironically used to create ambiguity and shifting interpretations. Geometry is used to indicate that the work is a conception and invention of the intellect, rather than a depiction of optical vision and the making of images of objects that can be seen in the physical world. Geometry therefore removes the idea that the work of art is the subjective expression of the artist's feelings or emotions, and replaces that notion with the idea that the work of art is a rational product of a concept that objectively generates the work.

My public works continue the same emphasis on geometry and regularity as my studio pieces. These are conceived on a larger scale, appropriate for and dependent upon the spaces they occupy, and are not simply enlarged versions of studio work.

I live and work in Dallas, TX, and I make geometric, abstract paintings. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio from Louisiana Tech University. I have exhibited at the Geometric MADI Museum in Dallas, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, William Campbell Gallery, 500X, the McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Forum Gallery at Brookhaven College, Richland College, El Centro College, Latino Cultural Center, Arlington Museum of Art, Beeville Art Museum and Mulcahy Modern. My work has been commissioned for permanent public art installations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Love Field Airport, and for the corporate collection of Neiman Marcus at North Park Mall and the Shops at Willow Bend, and by private collectors. I have received a grant from the Pollock Krasner Foundation in New York, which was used to fabricate sculpture. My work is featured on Geoform.net, a website devoted to abstract and geometric art. I also teach courses in the history of modern art for the Continuing and Professional Education Department (CAPE) at Southern Methodist University, leading courses on the main campus, the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Meadows Museum, Amon Carter Museum and Kimbell Art Museum.

Much more content is on my blog - Lanebanksart.blogspot.com. SEE LINK BELOW