Abigail Lane
Encyclopedia
Abigail Lane is an English artist. Lane was one of the exhibitors in the 1988 Damien Hirst-led Freeze
exhibition—a mixed show of art which was significant in the development of the later-to-be YBA scene of art.
and Goldsmiths College, University of London. She exhibited the Damien Hirst
curated "Freeze" in 1988, with Gary Hume
and Sarah Lucas
. This is seen as the inauguration of what later became known as Britart. Karsten Schubert
gave her the first solo show in 1997. Since 1997, Lane has shown at the Victoria Miro Gallery
.
Her work is based on late Victorian displays such as séances, circus imagery and magic shows. It has included wallpaper with a repeated design of images of her rear, scratching and scraping noises heard behind a shut door and wax replicas of bodily fragments suspended from the ceiling.
Since 1996, she has lived and worked in a 6000 sq ft (557.4 m²) warehouse in a Hackney Wick
industrial estate.
In October 2003, with Bob Pain and Brigitte Stepputtis, she launched a design company called "Showroom Dummies". Work has included cushions, blankets, uniforms and wall coverings. She asked artists to adapt plastic skulls. Sarah Lucas cast one in concrete; Peter Blake
covered one with the endings of books.
She had a relationship with fellow YBA, Michael Landy
.
Considering Lane's elegant sensibility, Tracey Emin
has said:
Freeze (exhibition)
Freeze is the title of an art exhibition that took place in July 1988 in an empty London Port Authority building at Surrey Docks in London Docklands. Its main organiser was Damien Hirst. It was significant in the subsequent development of the Young British Artists.-Organisation:Freeze was...
exhibition—a mixed show of art which was significant in the development of the later-to-be YBA scene of art.
Life and work
Abigail Lane was born in Penzance. She studied at Bristol PolytechnicUniversity of the West of England
The University of the West of England is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles north of the city centre...
and Goldsmiths College, University of London. She exhibited the Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
curated "Freeze" in 1988, with Gary Hume
Gary Hume
Gary Stewart Hume is an English artist. His work is strongly identified with the YBA artists who came to prominence in the early-1990s. In 1996, Hume was nominated for the Turner Prize, but lost out to Douglas Gordon. Hume was elected a Royal Academician in 2001.-Life and work:Hume was born in...
and Sarah Lucas
Sarah Lucas
Sarah Lucas is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s...
. This is seen as the inauguration of what later became known as Britart. Karsten Schubert
Karsten Schubert
Karsten Schubert is an artists' representative and gallery proprietor working in England.-Karsten Schubert Limited:Karsten Schubert ran Karsten Schubert Limited, initially in collaboration, and with the backing of, Richard Salmon, from 1986 to 1991...
gave her the first solo show in 1997. Since 1997, Lane has shown at the Victoria Miro Gallery
Victoria Miro Gallery
The Victoria Miro Gallery is a leading British contemporary art gallery in London, with an international reputation, run by Victoria Miro, one of the "grandes dames of the Britart scene", who first exhibited Chris Ofili and the Chapman Brothers...
.
Her work is based on late Victorian displays such as séances, circus imagery and magic shows. It has included wallpaper with a repeated design of images of her rear, scratching and scraping noises heard behind a shut door and wax replicas of bodily fragments suspended from the ceiling.
Since 1996, she has lived and worked in a 6000 sq ft (557.4 m²) warehouse in a Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick is an area straddling the boundary between the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It is an inner-city development situated 5 miles northeast of Charing Cross...
industrial estate.
In October 2003, with Bob Pain and Brigitte Stepputtis, she launched a design company called "Showroom Dummies". Work has included cushions, blankets, uniforms and wall coverings. She asked artists to adapt plastic skulls. Sarah Lucas cast one in concrete; Peter Blake
Peter Blake (artist)
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, KBE, CBE, RDI, RA is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.-Career:...
covered one with the endings of books.
She had a relationship with fellow YBA, Michael Landy
Michael Landy
Michael Landy RA is one of the Young British Artists . He is best known for the performance piece installation Break Down , in which he destroyed all his possessions, and for the Art Bin project at the South London Gallery. On 29 May 2008 Landy was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in...
.
Considering Lane's elegant sensibility, Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
has said: