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Measure Creatures Great + Small Artist Robert Lange Plays with Scale Charleston-based painter Robert Lange plays with scale by shrinking massive animals and blowing-up mini animals in a series of 25 new works entitled Measure: Creatures Great + Small. On view from September 4 thru September 30, 2009, with a sneak peak during the July 17 Palette & Palate Stroll at Robert Lange Studios, the show is a unique investigation into how the size of an animal effects our interaction with them. At the modest age of 28, Lange was recently the American Heart Association’s featured artist. He received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and is best known for creating bodies of work in a hyper-realist fashion. In December of 2008, Lange’s acclaimed series Still + Life portrayed still lives with the addition of living elements such as birds and humans. In his upcoming Measure show, Lange is now giving the viewer a unique and whimsical perspective of nature; a tiny lion sits regally on a chair or a huge penguin follows a pedestrian down the sidewalk. Some humorous, some obvious, and some more subtler but in each painting Lange has illustrated how much animals are missing from our everyday by placing them in common scenarios. For example, in one of the pieces for his September show titled, The Fox + The Pear, Lange has depicted a tiny fox sitting in a bowl next to a pear. The fox is scaled to be the same size as the pear and in a charming way sits as though he isn’t a bit out of place. “The reason for playing with the comparative size of each animal versus their surroundings is to make people take notice. There is an intrigue that is created and captivates the viewer by skewing the scales,” says Lange. “I can’t help but feel a certain amount of disconnection from animals and nature in general and a desire to bring both into my life and at least make people think about a possible addition to theirs.” In The Viewer, one of the works from his upcoming show, Lange paints a giant owl being viewed by two people in a museum-type setting. Due to the relative scale of the viewers and creature, the people appear overwhelmed by the twenty-foot owl before them. This piece exhibits not only the artist’s feeling towards how our natural world is now displayed but also his humbled feeling as an artist towards capturing the quintessential essence of the subject. Measure: Creatures Great + Small series will hang at Robert Lange Studios at 151 East Bay St. from Friday, September 4 - Wednesday, September 30, 2009. The opening reception will be Friday, September 4, from 5:30 - 8:30 PM and the artist will attend. Please visit www.robertlangestudios.com or call for more information 843.805.8052. Digital images are available upon request.
CHARLIE MAGAZINE: 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. CHARLESTON CITY PAPER: We were impressed that most of the restaurants’ top chefs were in the house, sweating and churning out the food themselves. We spotted Mike Lata at Robert Lange Studios in a sweet seersucker chef’s shirt, Jeremiah Bacon at Helena Fox Fine Art creating some tiny yet incredible salmon bites, and Sean Brock at Smith Kilian Fine Art, red-faced and trying to keep up with the demand for one of the tastiest dishes of the night, stone crab with creamed corn and Wadmalaw tomatoes. (I’ll admit, I went back for seconds). Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to fit in every gallery on the stroll (we even calculated how long we could spend at each stop during the two-hour event) it was virtually impossible. With the food and wine flowing and beautiful, distracting art everywhere, the impulse was to linger rather than gallery-hop. Fingers crossed that next year’s event can be an hour or two longer.
CHARLESTON POST & COURIER: Robert Lange’s new artwork plays with scale. Always delivering the fresh and unique to Charleston's art scene, Lange plays with scale in his new series called "Measure: Creatures Great + Small" opening this Friday. The show consists of 25 new works in which he shrinks massive animals and enlarges smaller ones, placing them in unique places, like an elephant in a small bowl or a chipmunk that is being painted by a much smaller human. "Some humorous, some obvious, and some more subtler but in each painting Lange has illustrated how much animals are missing from our everyday by placing them in common scenarios. For example, in one of the pieces for his September show titled, 'The Fox + The Pear,' Lange has depicted a tiny fox sitting in a bowl next to a pear. The fox is scaled to be the same size as the pear and in a charming way sits as though he isn't a bit out of place," says Megan Lange, co-owner of the gallery. "The reason for playing with the comparative size of each animal versus their surroundings is to make people take notice. There is an intrigue that is created and captivates the viewer by skewing the scales," says Robert Lange. "I can't help but feel a certain amount of disconnection from animals and nature in general and a desire to bring both into my life and at least make people think about a possible addition to theirs." In "The Viewer," one of the works from his upcoming show, Lange paints a giant owl being viewed by two people in a museum-type setting. Due to the relative scale of the viewers and creature, the people appear overwhelmed by the twenty-foot owl before them. This piece exhibits not only the artist's feeling towards how our natural world is now displayed but also his humbled feeling as an artist towards capturing the quintessential essence of the subject explains Megan Lange. "I wish through realism to create a seamless feeling that makes people second guess if tiny pandas really exist or what their experience would be like to have a giant chipmunk standing next to them," the artist says. "It's important to me that I'm always asking questions of the viewers through my paintings and that my audience looks to find the answers." "Measure: Creatures Great + Small" will hang at Robert Lange Studios, 151 East Bay St., until Sept. 30. This will be their last show at this gallery before they move into their new space on Queen Street. The opening reception Friday will be 5:30-8:30 p.m. and the artist will attend. For more information, visit www.robertlangestudios.com or call 805-8052.
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