Brooke Lanier
Contact Information
Studio & Gallery
Brooke Lanier Fine Art 820 S. 4th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.
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Painting/Drawing
Archived Work
Artist's Biography
Brooke Lanier earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from Tyler School of Art, where she spent her first year studying in Rome, Italy. Lanier also holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Drawing and Painting with a minor in Art History. She has exhibited her work in Prague, Rome, and across the U.S. In 2007, she received 2nd award in Volkswagen’s “Driven” competition for young artists with disabilities, and had her work displayed in the Smithsonian Institute and the John F. Kennedy Center before going on a two-year national tour.
Lanier teaches watercolor at Tyler School of Art, Temple University and private lessons at her studio. You can view her work by appointment at Brooke Lanier Fine Art.
Artist's Statement
My paintings imply human impact on the environment, depicting remnants of architectural interventions or the aftermath of severe storms. On the surface they can be appreciated as beautiful scenery, but they reference the sublime power of nature to destroy any attempts to shape the landscape to our own liking. Development of wetlands and waterfronts into housing complexes removes the natural protection against flooding, while the increase in densely populated coastal regions makes more people victims of devastating hurricanes. It doesn’t matter if structures are carefully planned and constructed. Wooden piers rot and collapse. Metal rusts out. Brick and concrete crack and crumble. Water and wind go where they want to. Plants grow through the broken foundations, and animals make their homes amid the rubble.
I often include man-made objects as interjections into my compositions. Sometimes I reduce the constructed elements to flattened geometric planes, creating conspicuously empty areas surrounded by areas of careful pattern and detail. The absences underscore the importance of what remains and vice versa. The artificial interruptions in space serve as scaffolding that both unites and divides the composition.
The level of detail present in my paintings reflects a compulsion to make sense of something that seems impossibly complex and chaotic. If you stare at something long enough, the hope is that it will begin to make sense. Sometimes it happens during the making. I start to notice elements that line up in a certain way, and those things intersect with another line of logic such as a change in scale or a shift in color. Once I see the patterns, I understand that small section of the world in a particular moment in time. It is comforting.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2020
Unreliable Reflections, Pennswood Art Gallery, Newtown, PA
2017
Theoretical and Concrete, The Bazemore Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Surface Tension, The Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2012
YOU ARE HERE: New Works by Brooke Lanier, Goldilocks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Solitude and Solidarity, Temple Gallery, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2010
ConText, Temple Contemporary Gallery, Rome, Italy
2009
Detachment, Three Peas Art Lounge, Chicago, IL
Group
2021
Light, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2020
CFEVA Members Show, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Perennial Visions II, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2018
Everything Is There: Helen Halstuch, Brooke Lanier, and Kimberly Stemler, River’s Edge Gallery, Upper Black Eddy, PA
The Philadelphia Chambers of Commerce, curated by Genevieve Coutroubis of The Center For Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
2017
Painted-Paint-Painting, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2017 Collection, Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, MA
2016
Near and Far, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2015
Focus Forward, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C
24th Annual Juried Competition, Stephen Westfall juror, The Bowery Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
2014
Friends and Neighbors, AIRspace Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Home, Goggleworks Gallery, Reading, PA
2012
Artists-In-Residence: Brooke Lanier, Kate Perkins, and Rebecca Tennenbaum, Goldilocks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Small Works Show, Gallery 440, Brooklyn, NY
Hand-Lettered, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO (catalog)
WOOT!, The Icebox, Philadelphia, PA
2010
Art for Kikko: Serious and Significant Works, La _Linea Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy
Love at First Sight, Mondelliani, Rome, Italy
2008
Volkswagen/ VSAarts: Driven Competition for Young Artists with Disabilities, The Smithsonian Institute’s S. Dillon Ripley Center and The John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. (subsequent 2 year national tour)
2007
The Painted Tongue, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Great Lakes Emerging Artists, Art Forum, State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia, Fredonia, NY
Two Person Exhibition, New Work by Brooke Lanier and Adam Novak, The Sweatshop Gallery, Chicago, IL
Detachment (BFA thesis exhibition, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago), G2, Chicago, IL
2006
První vyhráni z kapsy vyhráni, Doubner Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
Corporate Collections
Aramark Global Headquarters, Philadelphia, PA
Emory University Hospital, Decatur and Atlanta, GA
Honeywell Corporate Offices, New York, NY
Volvér Restaurant, Garces Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
Panorama Wine Bar, Philadelphia, PA
Kellogg Middle School, mural, Rochester, MN
Artist's Bibliography
2014
Lindsay, Sibyl, “Brooke Lanier: Art Classes for Kids,” Hipster Henry, June 17, 2014
Klein, Michael, “Early Look at Volver” Philly.com February 11, 2014
2013
“2013 In a Neighborhood Near You: MADE IN PHILLY,” POST, September 5, 2013
2011
Seidler, Caitlin Ostrow, “Fighting Disability Stereotypes With Comics: I Cannot See You But I Know You Are Staring At Me," Art Education, v64 n6 p20-23 Nov 2011
Cover art “Personal Best,” Tinge Magazine: Temple University’s Online Literary Magazine, Issue 1, Spring 2011
2009
Howald, Lindsey, “Round About Art,” Columbia Tribune, January 25, 2009
2008
Terry, Don, “Dark Humor,” Chicago Tribune Weekend Magazine, March 23, 2008
2007
Rorie, Karen, “Vision Problems Opened Award-Winning Artist’s Eyes,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, November 23, 2007
Awards and Honors
2013
Featured artist, Philadelphia Open Studios Tours “MADE IN PHILLY” billboard
2012
Artist in Residence, Goldilocks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2007
Volkswagen/ VSAarts: Driven Competition, Second Place
Professional Experience
2017-present
Adjunct Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University Watercolor Foundations and Explorations, Philadelphia, PA
2012-present
Owner,Brooke Lanier Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
Curatorial Projects
2018
Unintended Consequences, Brooke Lanier Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
2017
Try to Understand, Brooke Lanier Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Young Artists Exhibition, co-curated with Yang Bin Park and Gina Renzi, 40th Street AIR Artists Residency, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Drawing the Human Form, Brooke Lanier Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
Drawn to Animals, Brooke Lanier Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA
Education
2011
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and Rome, Italy
MFA in Painting
2006
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
BFA in Painting, Minor in Art History
Recent Artist Member Mentions on InLiquid
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POST 2021 – South
Studios open noon – 6pm. Includes: Queen Village, Bella Vista, South Philadelphia, Point Breeze, Pennsport, NewBold, East Passyunk, and Center … See Full Post
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Bridgette Mayer 2021 Benefit Exhibition: Hope & Possibility
Benefit Exhibition For EducationWorks & Tools For School Opening Reception: Thursday, October 7th, 5:30pm-8:00pm Location: 990 Spring Garden St, Ground … See Full Post
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POST: Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2021 – South
POST Online: April 7, 14, 21, 28, 2021. 6-8pm each evening. CFEVA IS THRILLED TO PRESENT POST ONLINE, TO YOU, … See Full Post
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Light
A DVAA MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION IN GALLERY 1 @ DVAA PUBLIC OPENING RECEPTION: Wednesday, December 2, 7-8pm | Register here 2020 … See Full Post
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Members Shed “Light” at DVAA
Alan Lankin, Annie Stone, Barbara Dirnbach, Bill Brookover, Brenda Howell, Brooke Lanier, Cheryl Levin, Diane Lachman, Ellen Abraham, Florence Weisz, Frank M. Gaydos, Gary Grissom, Jenn Hallgren, Linda Dubin Garfield, Louis Gribaudo, Mary Powers Holt, Michael Marks, Orlando Saverino-Loeb, Pamela Tudor, Phyllis Anderson, Rebecca Schultz, Rosalind Bloom, Sally K. Eisenberg, Sam Koren, Sandi Neiman Lovitz, and Terri Fridkin are all in Da Vinci Art Alliance’s members exhibition, Light. The show, which runs December 2 – December 20, 2020, will have a virtual opening reception Wednesday, December 2 at 7 pm.
Feature image: Harborview, Golden Hour, Brooke Lanier