Rich Lane was formally trained in painting and
sculpture at Northern Illinois University, graduating with an Art Education
degree in 1993. He received
numerous awards and scholarships for his collegiate artwork allowing him to
study art in London and Cairo in 1990.
Rich absorbed as much art, culture and history as he could when he
studied overseas, which greatly influenced his art and views of the world. As soon as he picked up a camera to
photograph details of his sculptures, the camera then became his artistic tool
of choice to express his darker view of our world around us.
“The camera, to me, is much like a paintbrush is to a painter. It is simply a tool I use to express what is in my focused mind’s eye. I see the finished image in my head even before I ever put the film into my camera.”
Rich is more of a series oriented artist who seeks to dismantle our preconceived notions about what is beautiful within nature, life and our media-obsessed culture. His nature series focuses on the smaller details of plants and grasses turning them into an insect’s eye view of a turbulent and violent environment. The Field Museum of Chicago offered up a bizarre yet intimate setting for a series of work that Rich worked on for 3 summers. Photographing the exhibits, backrooms and private scientific collections that seldom get to see was a dream come true. The photographs from the Field Museum have a strong sense of composition and design but also show the pain and peacefulness within the containers and displays of dead animals. His photographed collages and assemblages of found magazine ads and pornography manipulate our perceptions about what exactly is being sold in the pages of glossy fashion magazines.
Rich Lane has had work exhibited in The Dream Home, The Design House at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in 2011; “Where all the D*cks Hang Out,” a group show at Western Exhibitions, Chicago in 2006; Photographic Magazine in January 2005; 17th Annual National Juried Art Exhibition of Small Works, Harper College, Palatine, IL in 2005, which was also purchased for their permanent collection. Rich also has photographs in the permanent collections of Sarah McLachlin, Steven Tyler and Madonna.
“The camera, to me, is much like a paintbrush is to a painter. It is simply a tool I use to express what is in my focused mind’s eye. I see the finished image in my head even before I ever put the film into my camera.”
Rich is more of a series oriented artist who seeks to dismantle our preconceived notions about what is beautiful within nature, life and our media-obsessed culture. His nature series focuses on the smaller details of plants and grasses turning them into an insect’s eye view of a turbulent and violent environment. The Field Museum of Chicago offered up a bizarre yet intimate setting for a series of work that Rich worked on for 3 summers. Photographing the exhibits, backrooms and private scientific collections that seldom get to see was a dream come true. The photographs from the Field Museum have a strong sense of composition and design but also show the pain and peacefulness within the containers and displays of dead animals. His photographed collages and assemblages of found magazine ads and pornography manipulate our perceptions about what exactly is being sold in the pages of glossy fashion magazines.
Rich Lane has had work exhibited in The Dream Home, The Design House at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in 2011; “Where all the D*cks Hang Out,” a group show at Western Exhibitions, Chicago in 2006; Photographic Magazine in January 2005; 17th Annual National Juried Art Exhibition of Small Works, Harper College, Palatine, IL in 2005, which was also purchased for their permanent collection. Rich also has photographs in the permanent collections of Sarah McLachlin, Steven Tyler and Madonna.