Measure: Of a Great Artist
You just have to walk down East Bay to see the world’s smallest panda. Or a giraffe measuring inches high. A chipmunk six times the size of a man. Or even a puma resting lazily next to a sneaker towering its size.
You just have to walk into Robert Lange Studios to transport to this whimsical, irresistibly intriguing, weird little world. Robert’s world. And believe us…you want front row seats.
His newest collection, Measure: Creatures Great + Small, may as well stamp a giant “#1 FAN” tattoo on us. It’s some of the most interesting and thought-provoking art we’ve seen. Ever. Take In Thoughtful Response, for instance. This painting features the greatest creature of all…the mighty king of the jungle. Yet, in all his glory, he’s dwarfed, sitting on a simple dining room chair. It is a truly humbling experience to look into the golden eyes of the lion. The collection’s self-titled piece features a person walking his dog down a city street, following a tiny zebra and being followed by a giant penguin. You can’t help but reevaluate your perspective on your place in this great, big world. There’s also a lighter side, seen in Hang, one of our other favs. The monkey hanging from the ladle invokes a smile, but the real mystery is in how on earth Lange painted a metal ladle with reflection?! That alone will have your dinner party guests clamoring around this painting in wonder.
Measure just confirms what we’ve been thinking for quite some time. Robert Lange is a phenomenal artist, and we are lucky to have him here in Charleston. Through hyper-realism, this 28-year-old talent, who was interestingly enough a mathematical prodigy at age 10, opens our minds and challenges our thinking. He says, “there are no ordinary moments.” And, when you’re looking at his art, he’s right.
His gallery is known for, besides the great parties it hosts, helping launch the popularity of other talented contemporary artists, such as Nathan Durfee. Lange’s wife and fellow artist, Megan, tells us that they look for artists who are authentic and have a strong signature style. Sort of like Lange, we presume, whose work could never be mistaken for another.
Lange has piercing eyes and an inviting smile that leaves him looking like a better-looking version of Topher Grace, which can’t hurt sales. Yet you won’t feel pressured to buy in the gallery…simply comfortable and at home. You can tell that each painting is so loved that it’s not just about selling it for a profit. People come and visit their favorite painting often, just sitting with their potential new family member for weeks on end. The gallery will also work with you to arrange payment plans, which is particularly helpful for young or first-time art collectors, since Lange’s paintings can range from $900 to several thousand.
Palette & Palate strollers got a sneak peek of the show; however, Measure: Creatures Great + Small will officially debut September 4. Remember what we told you about front row seats.
In the meantime, go explore Robert Lange Studios. Just stay clear of the lion. That’s ours.
Story by Caroline Nuttall
This collection is absolutely amazing and yes we are lucky to have him here as well as Nathan Durfee!
I disagree with your assessment of this artist. I realize that the nature of your business doesn’t allow for an honest critique, after all a bad critique would be bad for business. I also understand that you may absolutely feel that what you wrote is accurate. From my point of view, most people probably can’t get beyond the flashiness of Lange’s technique which in regard to hyperrealistic rendering is second rate. His paintings are so evenly rendered that it is disturbing. Moreover the subjects he chooses to apply his technique are very contrived. If we are talking phenomenal artists in the photorealistic or hyperrealistic style you could maybe c look toward artists such as Gerhard Richter or Chuck Close. Artists of this caliber are great. Place a Lange portrait next to a Chuck Closeand Lange’s will fall to pieces. I know that there are many undiscovered great artist who are currently producing great paintings but Lange is not one of them. Not to say that someday he won’t be great. He is still young and time is on his side although he seems pretty locked in to what he is doing. I have seen his work over the last couple of years and little has changed. They continue to disappoint.
Peter, you sound bitter. Why bash a local artist who is doing something new and progressive? Art is subjective.
I feel compelled to comment on Peter’s comment, just so that anyone reading doesn’t think he and the “Ice Cream Man” are the final word on Lange’s art. I am an art lover and not by any means a critic but here are my two cents.
I first discovered Lange’s work in New American Paintings and then shortly after on the cover of American Art Collector. I immediately went downtown to see his studio and hopefully meet the man. He was surprisingly young and humble.
Over the past three years I have watched Lange. I’ve even grabbed a piece from time to time. Here’s what Peter and others may not “get” about Lange: He paints with a happy freedom that can only be seen in an artist that understands that the world is only as tortured as you make it. Art is not for the bourgeois but instead for the everyman. His paintings achieve what must be a satisfying goal for an artist, they make people smile. I’ve watched too many “tortured artists” that are desperately trying to stand on the shoulders of a paraplegic master or a german escapee, it reminds me of the Rap generation that grew up in upper middle class suburbia. I commend Lange for not becoming what YOU think he should be.
A little quote from Gerhard himself: “What I’m attempting in each picture is nothing other than this.. to bring together in a living and viable way, the most different and the most contradictory elements in the greatest possible freedom.”
Well I will respectfully disagree with Peter if that’s alright and say that Robert Lange is the first contemporary artist in a LONG time that I find captivating and brilliant.
My fiance and I visited Charleston about a month ago and, while we peered into the windows of the countless art galleries around, RLS is the only one we actually walked into…and quite honestly, Mike has never shown an interest in art until he saw Robert Lange’s painting at the Meeting House (which is now happily living at our house). Also, we are in agreement that his technique in painting reflections and water is unprecedented and mesmerizing.
Lange is a great artist and, because he’s young, time is actually on our side because we will get to enjoy everything he creates for many years to come…his work is unique, it’s edgy and it tells a story. It is truly a joy to be around and when we return to Charleston, that’ll be the first place we visit (well maybe the 2nd if you count wherever we stay so we can put our bags down).
I am not suggesting Lange should be anything. I do not know him personally and my comments are only directed towards his paintings. Moreover,I made no suggestions regarding how he should paint. The point i was making in my first post was that calling him great or phenomenal is an overstatement. I then backed it up with artists that truly have mastered the genre of painting that Lange involves himself with. JH you are right art is subjective and from my point of view Lange’s work is dry and stiff. I think that we have become so accustomed to neatly packed perfect looking products that we unwittingly now expect it from our art. I think this is a bad trend in the current art scene. I see it in galleries all over, work that is overly technically and lacking emotion, expression, and content. From my point of view the subjects of Lange’s paintings are after thoughts and his paintings are more about a technique. A technique that again from my point of view and knowledge of things is unconvincing. Both photorealism and pop art were relevant in their day and they were intentionally dry and lacking emotion as a response to abstract expressionism. Dry art is not my cup of tea.
Rob’s work has been gracing Charleston for sometime now, and one of the wonderful things about his work and the gallery’s other artists is they have helped to renew interest in the visual arts. As director of another gallery, albeit a quite different one, in Charleston, I have gotten to know the Langes and many of the artists they represent as well. The gallery has a high standard for all their artists and it shows through in all they do. There is so much imagination and passion that goes into Rob’s paintings, that I find dry and stiff very inaccurate descriptions, personally. I have witnessed many a visitor to RLS who is genuinely thrilled at the work the Langes present to them, which is a huge step in itself–engaging the audience and community. All artists can agree that an engaged viewer is critical to the process of creating art of all forms. People frequently walk into a gallery, and spend less than 60 seconds, never really looking at a piece of art work. Three cheers for work that can stop a person in their tracks. Even all this commentary shows that we are developing a more active audience, which is great!
I hope that you will take a few moments the next time you find yourself downtown to stop into RLS and meet Robert & Megan. They are both frequently there, and I feel confident that you will find them very friendly and engaging. And gaining a little more insight into Rob’s creations will certainly help to dispel any thought of it lacking emotion, expression or content.
Congratulations on a great show from this point of view!
Art stimulating a friendly duel online… Kudos, Caroline… for the story and for the expressiveness of the audience… I love a good joust… and certainly, I am willing to take a sword for my gallery and the art in it… Charleston, lets play in this art scene… and make it worthy of the attention on the national scene… and not for our marshes and egrets…Atmah Ja