Lannie Hart is a sculptor and painter born in Jacksonville, Florida. Raised in a family of creative women, Hart was exposed as a child to needle crafts, painting and the possibilities of making art from found objects. These inspirational women had a major impact on her development as an artist.

After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, Hart moved to New York City where she mastered various technical skills and focused her artistic vision. In 1982 she mounted her first solo show at Julie Artisan Gallery in New York City and was published in Julie Schaffler-Dale’s book Art to Wear. Her 1988 solo exhibition at the Women’s Bank of New York was reviewed in ARTSPEAK. Hart later joined the women’s cooperative gallery SOHO20, where she mounted several solo shows, and went on to be represented by the commercial gallery Broadfoot and Broadfoot in Boonton, NJ until 2018.

In 2012, Hart won the First Purchase Prize at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn, NY. She was awarded a $10,000 grant from Historic Hudson Valley in 2015 for a commissioned public sculpture in Van Cortlandt Manor, Croton-On-Hudson, NY. Hart has been a member of the Sculptors Guild in New York City since 2012, where she serves as Vice President of Publications. She lives and works in Westchester, NY.

My sculpture and paintings focus on the perception of women in contemporary society, as well as their historical and mythological portrayal. Based on the female figure, my practice is rooted in the mastery of various techniques, including welding, soldering, assemblage, and wood carving, with a strong emphasis on conceptual content.

My most recent work investigates the objectification of women- how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go. Exploring female sexuality and empowerment, earlier representation sculptural work is informed by Renaissance art, Surrealism, and mythology. It embraces a variety of media including cast bronze, resin, welded steel, brass, carved wood and found object assemblage.

I am interested in asserting women’s equality, as well as the study of woman as a metaphorical image. Whether evocative of nature, steeped in religion, or cloaked in other cultural references, the subjects of my work are often simultaneously beautiful and fractured, vulnerable yet powerful.
Lannie Hart
Apr 15, 2020