Reimagining: Faith, Hope, and Love

Reimagining: Faith, Hope, and Love will run at Blackfriars Gallery from September 1, 2024 through December 12, 2024.


Reimagining: Faith, Hope, and Love 

Recent Paintings by Deborah Joan Lanino

Join us for an Opening Reception at Blackfriars Gallery

Sunday, September 22, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Read the Review of the Exhibition

The exhibition, featuring paintings created between 2020 and 2024, consists of several sections. The first honors the legacy of the Renaissance painter, Bernardino Lanino (1512-1583) and his workshop. The second is inspired by faith and scripture, and the third is a meditation on pilgrimage and renewal.

One could say that art is in Deborah's DNA, going back her ancestor, Bernardino Lanino, who created master works in the city of Vercelli and the surrounding region of Piedmont. The journey began in 1985 when Deborah, then a junior at Pratt Institute, studied abroad at SACI in Florence, Italy. While living there, she saw an exhibition in Vercelli commemorating 400 years since the death of the Renaissance painter Bernardino Lanino, revealing her ancestral connection to him and the prolific “Lanino Workshop.” Shortly afterwards, she received a very old handwritten family tree from a cousin in Turin, as well as books and commemorations. Inspired by these materials, Deborah used the occasion of this show to commission genealogists in Piedmont, Italy to verify her ancestral connection to Bernardino. Their recent work has uncovered centuries-old vital records confirming a direct lineage which is summarized in a recent article published in Family Tree Magazine.

Through her work, the artist creates conversations rooted in classical techniques such as chiaroscuro, sfumato, pentimento, glazes and impasto. The meditative nature of these works invite the viewer to see that we are all connected. Blending together past and present, the works echo themes of transcendence that diffuse grief and loss, the goal of which is to thoughtfully engage, uplift and bring positivity to the viewer.

Deborah has taught college art for over 10 years at the Art Institute and exhibited her work in numerous galleries and museums nationwide, including bG Gallery, Sturt Haaga Gallery, Range Projects Gallery, The Makery, The Beverly Hills Art Show, and The Huntington Art Museum. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay Times, UK House & Garden, and Wine Spectator, as well as publications such as Farrar Straus & Giroux, Random House, Barnes & Noble Classics and Simon & Schuster. Currently, Deborah resides in Los Angeles, where she maintains her art studio. 

Visit Deborah Lanino Website

Family Tree Magazine