The Cultural Property Collection
Decorative. With Attitude
click on each painting for detail and installation images
“Lanzetta undermines the sense of order and decorum normally associated with decorative and architectural patterns; her paintings transform the decorative into something far removed from paradise.” -John Yau, A Postmodern Garden
Chanteuse 36” x 75" oil and enamel on canvas on wood panel
Temporary Garden 36" x 75" oil and enamel on canvas on wood panel
Cultural Instructions
Reality and imagination are bridged as plants from the artist’s garden are transformed into large-scale silhouettes that challenge for supremacy against a palette of cultural patterns. Spiritual influences of Buddhism, textiles, and “details of Indian architecture, motifs from historic Mughal carpets and plant forms," are persistent sources of inspiration. -Gill Saunders, Curator, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Statement
MARGARET LANZETTA uses abstract, culturally significant pattern to explore larger issues of language, political power, spirituality, and migration. While New York-based, Lanzetta has lived and worked globally: India, Japan, Southeast Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Thus influenced, Buddhism, Islamic architecture, nature, world trade and industry are persistent inspirations. Geometric and botanical imprints link disparate cultures and geographic regions. Digital technology is combined with printmaking; silkscreening, stamping and glossy enamels create layered, tactile surfaces.
Lanzetta has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Queens Museum Biennial. International exhibitions: the Kochi Biennale Collateral Projects, India; the National Museum, Bangkok, Thailand (pop-up exhibition); 2nd Bloom, Singapore; Famous Ornament, Tokyo; Rome, ATP Gallery, London; and the Stockholm Independent Art Fair. Awards include three Fulbright Fellowships to Asia and Europe; three residencies at the MacDowell Colony; the Ucross Foundation; the British Academy in Rome; Greenwich House Pottery; Dieu Donné Papermill; and a permanent commission for the New York subway. Lanzetta received an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her works are held by the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Harvard Art Museums; The New York Public Library Print Collection; and the New York University Medical Centers. Lanzetta press has appeared in The New York Times, The Brooklyn Rail, ArtCritical.com, Two Coats of Paint, and several Indian/Asian online and print venues. Lanzetta divides her studio time between New York and various international studios.