Jan Lassetter Works Biography
Jan Lassiter
In my earliest years I pursued German Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism which gradually evolved into Abstraction and finally Realism.
Since my images came from natural forms, it was a natural progression to the landscape. My fascination with the land-scene, its awesome space, grandeur, solitude and spirituality kept me committed until I moved my studio to Oakland near the estuary.
I have been inspired by the complexity and beauty of marine-industrial images. Adding machinery to the land-scenes has been as exciting process of discovery and immense artistic growth and development.
To capture a “sense of place”, different elements from many studies are combined to make a composition. Canaletto, among others, inspired me to paint these scenes with realistic detail and a meticulous working procedure. The edges are soft and blended with images developed by applying many thin layers of oil paint. Working on top of a dark alkyd under-painting, more depth, luminosity, vibrancy and intensity of color are achieved. Directional light, specific times of day with reflections or double images are as important to me as a classical central focal point on the canvas. I like the juxtaposition of hard, dense solid metal/wood against soft, fluid, translucent sky/water.
Reflections or double images add another dimension and more interest to a composition.
The animate urban “marine scenes” have a similar spiritualism and spatial quality as the earlier and, now, later “land scenes”. Having come almost full circle, I am again painting land scenes, but, which are very different from the earlier ones. They are much more defined and technically complex after a decade of having paid such close attention to detail in the “marine-scenes”. Paradoxically, the “marine-scenes” are a timely visual documentation of the area and industry while the land-scenes are a visual interpretation of the place and space rendered.
EXHIBITIONS
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019:
Wood River Valley Studio Tour Sun Valley, Idaho – Special Recognition
2011 Triton Museum of Art, Group Exhibition, Santa Clara, CA
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014 Winfield Gallery, Group Exhibition, Carmel, CA
2002 Oakland Art Museum, Scene in Oakland 1852-2000, Oakland, CA
2001 Bernarducci-Meisel Gallery, Solo Exhibit New York, NY
1999 Coplan Gallery, Group Exhibition, Boca Raton, Florida
1998-1999 Monique Goldstrom Gallery, New York, NY
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 Bruce R. Lewin Gallery, Group Exhibition New York, NY
1994 Bank of America Headquarters, Solo Exhibit, San Francisco, CA
1993-1994 Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Palo Alto, CA
1993 William Sawyer Gallery, Tribute Group Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
1992 Pacific Telesis, Group Exhibition, Walnut Creek, CA
1992 Oakland Art Museum Collector’s Gallery, Group Exhibition, Oakland, CA
1992 Port of Oakland, Group Exhibition Oakland, CA
1992 Saint Francis Hospital Foundation, Solo Exhibit, San Francisco, CA
1991 Modernism Gallery, Group Exhibition San Francisco, CA
1991 Tortue Gallery, Solo Exhibit, Santa Monica, CA
1991 San Diego Museum of Art, Cityscapes Group Exhibition, San Diego, CA
1990 Hubbard Museum, American Masters Invitational, Ruidoso, NM
1990 CCAC, Contemporary Realist Painting, Oakland, CA
1990-1991 American Masters, Moscow, Russia and Berlin, Germany
1988 Boise Art Museum, New Acquisitions Group Exhibition, Boise, ID
1988 Modernism Gallery, Solo Exhibit, San Francisco, CA
1987 Gallery Henoch, Group Exhibition, New York, NY
1985 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Art Parts, Santa Barbara, CA
1985, Monterey Museum of Art, Art Parts, Monterey, CA
1985, William Sawyer Gallery, Solo Exhibit, San Francisco, CA
1985 William Sawyer Gallery, American Realism, San Francisco, CA
1983 Sun Valley Art Center Gallery, Group Exhibition, Sun Valley, ID
1983 Park Gallery, Solo Exhibit, Louisville, Kentucky
1982 Janus Gallery, Solo Exhibit, Santa Fe, NM
1981 CA State Fair, Honorable Mention Sacramento, CA
1980 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Parts, San Francisco, CA
1980 Palo Alto Cultural Center, Art Parts, Palo Alto, CA
1979 Boise Art Museum, Biennial Competition Boise, ID
1978 John Pence Gallery, Solo Exhibit, San Francisco, CA
1976, 1977 Boise Art Museum, Idaho Annual Competition, Boise, ID
1967 M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Group Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
1967 San Francisco Art Gallery, Solo Exhibit, San Francisco, CA
1960 High Museum of Art, Solo Exhibit, Atlanta, GA
1959-1960 U.S.I.S. Tour to America Hauses, Germany
COLLECTIONS
Albertson’s Food Corp., Boise, Idaho
American Club, Hong Kong
A.P. Moller Shipping, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bishop Estate, Honolulu, Hawaii
Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho
Castle & Cook Corp., Honolulu, Hawaii
Crocker Bank, San Francisco, CA
Dodge Cox Stock, San Francisco, CA
Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Foster, San Francisco, CA
Eileen Rockefeller Growald, Private Collection
El Paso Museum of Fine Art,El Paso, TX
Federal Reserve Bank, San Francisco, CA
Glenn C. Janss, Collection of American Realism
Goldman Sachs, Dallas, TX
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Lomas & Nettleton, Dallas, TX
Lyndon Johnson Library, Austin, TX
McGraw Hill, New York, NY
Manulife Financial, Boston, MA
Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
Monterey Savings & Loan, Monterey, CA
Morrison-Knudson Corp. , Boise, ID
Oakland Art Museum, Oakland, CA
Port of Oakland , Oakland, CA
Refugee Commission, Bonn, Germany
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
State of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
Sunshine Mines, Kellogg, Idaho
United First Federal Savings & Loan, Boise, Idaho
University of Rochester Museum, Rochester, New York
Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco, CA
4711 Cologne, Cologne, Germanyorn
