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.

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Dane Lovett

Goodnight Room

3 May – 7 June 2025

sydney

Melbourne Art Fair

Dane Lovett, Clare Milledge, Tom Polo, Julia Trybala

22 February – 25 February 2024

art fair

Dane Lovett

Think Think Plan Think Fantasy Think Plan Think

2 September – 30 September 2023

melbourne

Dane Lovett

Cool Water

5 March – 2 April 2022

melbourne

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Ten year show

12 June – 10 July 2021

melbourne

Photo 7-1-21, 10 47 48 am

Quarantine Art Fair

Jon Cattapan, Consuelo Cavaniglia, Adam Lee, Dane Lovett, Nell, Jonny Niesche, Tom Polo, Reko Rennie, Gareth Sansom, Michelle Ussher, Isadora Vaughan, Yevgeniya Baras

7 January – 10 January 2021

art fair

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Dane Lovett

Dirty Lily

21 March – 18 April 2020

melbourne

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Grotesquerie

Steve Carr, Consuelo Cavaniglia, David Griggs, Dane Lovett, TV Moore, Séraphine Pick, Michelle Ussher

4 May – 25 May 2019

melbourne

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Spring 1883, Melbourne

Stella Corkery, Dane Lovett, Patrick Lundberg, Patrick Pound, Lisa Radford, Michelle Ussher

1 August – 4 August 2018

art fair

Dane Lovett

Dog Show

23 January – 17 February 2018

melbourne

Dane Lovett

Club Moss

9 July – 30 July 2016

melbourne

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Spring 1883, Sydney

Daniel Boyd, James Deutsher, Dane Lovett, Patrick Lundberg, Laith McGregor, TV Moore, Jonny Niesche, Tom Polo, Gareth Sansom, Esther Stewart, Ronnie van Hout, Jake Walker

10 September – 12 September 2015

art fair

Dane Lovett

Inside World

1 April – 17 May 2014

melbourne

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Group show

Daniel Boyd , Nadine Christensen, Dane Lovett, Laith McGregor, Moya McKenna, Andrew McLeod, TV Moore, Nell, Séraphine Pick, Renee So and Paul Ryan

24 January – 23 February 2013

melbourne

Dane Lovett

26 July – 1 September 2012

melbourne