Dane Lovett’s paintings are precisely crafted observations of familiar subject matter, ranging from domestic objects and everyday scenes to flowers and plants to popular culture. Echoing art historic traditions of still-life and landscape painting, his work goes beyond mere representation. Rather than focusing on what remains still and coherent, Lovett magnifies the dynamism hidden in slight moments.
Lovett’s image-based paintings are realised through techniques of mark-making, gesture and the presence of the hand. Built up over smooth, prepared surfaces, layers of brushwork shift between flatness and texture, holding tension between the image and the act of painting itself. The result is a painting that feels filtered and rendered, yet still carrying the tactile evidence of how it was made. His restrictive palette and experimentation with contrast enhance his distinct style, at times reducing colour to near absence and other times pushing contrast to its extremes. Depth in his work is fluid, some areas sharp while others dissolve into softness. Negative space is as integral as the subject matter itself, creating tension between what is seen and what is suggested. Balancing on the edge of recognition and distortion, Lovett stretches, compresses and warps delicate forms as he plays with scale, transforming a close-up into something vast or allowing a single detail to overtake the composition.
Dane Lovett has undertaken multiple residencies, including the DESA artist in residence, Bali, Indonesia (2023) and Australia Council Tokyo Studio Residency (2011). In 2019, Lovett was awarded the Victoria-Jiangsu Sister Province Arts Exchange, undertaking a residency at Points Centre for Contemporary Art (PCCA) in Jiangsu, China, which was the inspiration for his ongoing series of waterlily paintings. Dane was a finalist in the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize (2017). Dane Lovett’s work is held in the collections of Artbank, Australia; and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Goodnight Room
2023
STATION, Sydney
installation view
Photo: Document Photography
Hedge at the End of the World,
2025
oil and acrylic on canvas
213.0 x 275.0 cm
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Goodnight Room
2025
STATION, Sydney
installation view
Photo: Document Photography
All Night Sprinkler
2024
oil on canvas
180.0 x 150.0 cm
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Burning Up
2018
oil and acrylic on aluminium composite panel
37.0 x 30.0 cm
Think Think Plan Think Fantasy Think Plan Think
2023
STATION, Melbourne
installation view
Walking Up The Hill With John
2023
Oil and acrylic on canvas
200 x 200 cm
Field and Light
2021
oil and acrylic on canvas
180.0 x 150.0 cm
Spider Spider
2023
oil and acrylic on canvas
26.2 x 30.2 cm
Crisps
2024
oil and acrylic on canvas
152.0 x 91.5 cm
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Field Twenty One
2023
Oil and acrylic on canvas
5 panels: each 200.0 x 160.0 cm overall 200.0 x 805.0 cm
Evening Star
2023
oil and acrylic on canvas
120.0 x 100.0 cm
Spring 1883 Art Fair
2018
Hotel Windsor
installation view
Spider's House Palm
2023
oil and acrylic on canvas
26.2 x 30.2 cm
Light and Heavy
2024
oil and acrylic on canvas
28 x 35.5 cm
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Evening Effect (Fantin Vase) 3
2020
oil and acrylic on wood panel
62.0 x 52.5 cm
Dirty Lily
2020
STATION, Melbourne
installation view
Dirty Lily
2020
STATION, Melbourne
installation view
Night Walk
2021
oil and acrylic on canvas
51.0 x 41.0 cm
Evening Effect (Fantin Vase) 2
2020
oil on wood panel
43.0 x 31.5 cm
Spring 1883 Art Fair
2018
Hotel Windsor
installation view