Our studio Sunday artist today is Helmut Lang. You may have heard of Lang’s name in the context of fashion -- the Austrian artist is well-known for his minimalist fashion designs which rose to public attention in the 90s. 

The artist’s studio has a very dramatic atmosphere here -- while I suspect that the colours in this photo have been manipulated to some degree, the artist’s space is still very heavy on greys and blacks, emphasizing texture over colour, something like the artworks of Mareo Rodriguez. 

As a noted fashion designer, Lang is obviously wealthy enough to afford an industrial-sized studio space -- the studio itself is located in a reclaimed and renovated barn on the artist’s property in the East Hamptons. The studio even has a basement, which, judging from the concrete walls and lack of lighting, is shown above. 

There’s a sense of coldness in this space that comes from both the artist’s stylistic choices, and from the knowledge that all this exists beneath the earth. The artist’s works don’t appear colourful or inviting in the way that, for example, Annie Morris’ might, but there is an undeniable sense of power in the works shown here. 

Lang had his first solo art exhibition in 2016 at the Dallas Contemporary. Lang is, as of 2019, mostly retired from the fashion industry. I imagine that with a studio space as expansive and beautiful as this one, the artist would want to spend plenty of time honing his craft.

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