Abigail Lane Explained

Abigail Lane (born 1967) is an English artist who works in photography, wax casting, printing and sound.^[1] 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.

Life and work

Lane was born in Penzance, Cornwall. She studied at Bristol Polytechnic and Goldsmiths College, University of London.^[2] Lanes work attempts to address an absence of an artist or "missing person". She uses clues and photographs as a trace or evidence to her work inviting the audience to piece together a narrative or event that has taken place.^[3] Abigail Lane's work presents a disturbing subject matter which creates an alluring effect, Tracey Emin states, "Abigail could show the contents of her fridge and it would be fantastic."^[4]

Lane exhibited in the Damien Hirst curated Freeze in 1988, with others including Gary Hume RA, Sarah Lucas and Fiona Rae RA.^[5] Karsten Schubert gave her the first solo show in 1992.^[6] One of her most well known shows was 'Skin of Teeth' hosted at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1995. Lane went on to have a solo show at the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht in 1996.

In October 2003, with her two friends Bob Pain and Brigitte Stepputtis, Lane launched a design company in 2003^[7] from her London based studio called "Showroom Dummies" . "Showroom Dummies" included a collection of cushions, tiles, fabrics, blankets, uniforms and wall coverings^[8] which Lane described as 'things I would want in my own house"^[9]

Exhibitions

• Freeze, Surrey Docks, London, 1988
• New Contemporaries, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1989
• Modern Medicine, Building One, London, 1990
• Show Hide Show, Anderson O'Day Gallery, London, 1991
• Mat Collishaw, Angus Fairhurst, Abigail Lane, Via Farini, Milan, Italy, 1992
• Abigail Lane: Making History Karsten Schubert, 1992
• Group show, Barbara Gladstone Gallery and Stein Gladstone Gallery, New York, 1992
• 20 Fragile Pieces. Galerie Barbara et Luigi Polla, Geneva, Switzerland, 1992
• Skin of Teeth, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1995
• Privacy, Documentario, Milan, Italy, 1993

See also

• Young British Artists
• Freeze exhibition

External links

• Showroom Dummies
• http://www.eyestorm.com/abigail-lane.html
• Photo of Abigail Lane
• Article on Abigail Lane
• Christies

Notes and References

1. Book: Bush, Kate. Abigail Lane. Institute of Contemporary Arts. 1995. 090526374-X. London. 7.
2. http://www.picassomio.com/gallery/eyestorm/abigail-lane-1578.html Abigail Lane Biography
3. Book: Sensation: Young British Artists from Saatchi Collection . Adams . Jardine . Maloney . Rosenthal . Shone . Thames & Hudson. 1997. 0500280428. London. 200.
4. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/may/29/sarah-lucas-aldeburgh-snape-art Sarah Lucas: 'Moving to the country was very magical somehow'
5. Web site: Art review: Abigail Lane . 2001-10-29 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230722220527/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2001/oct/29/art.artsfeatures . 2023-07-22 . live .
6. http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=2660&page=1&sole=y&collab=y&attr=y&sort=default&tabview=bio Artist biography
7. Web site: SHOWROOM DUMMIES. https://web.archive.org/web/20060428012521/http://www.showroomdummies.com/page06.html. dead. 2006-04-28. 2006-04-28. 2018-11-24.
8. Web site: Private view. Murphy. Dominic. Steiner. Susie. 2002-10-12. The Guardian. en. 2018-11-24.
9. News: The eerie interior universe of Abigail Lane. Beard. Alison. https://web.archive.org/web/20060519184408/http://www.showroomdummies.com/images/magazine-pdf-files06/magazines-pdfs-2005/Ft-oct-2005.pdf. dead. 19 May 2006. Financial Times. 23 November 2018.