artists
every piece has a story, and every story begins with an artist
WEST COAST, TE WAIPOUNAMU · CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT PAINTER
Lance Kerr
Lance Kerr is a contemporary New Zealand painter whose practice brings together abstraction, philosophy and embodied experience. Through energetic gesture, layered surfaces and a shifting balance between expressionism and minimalism, his work explores consciousness, perception and the interconnected nature of experience.
about
Based on the West Coast of Te Waipounamu, Lance Kerr has maintained a dedicated studio practice for more than two decades, exhibiting throughout Aotearoa and internationally.
Born in New Zealand in 1975, Lance studied visual communication at Ara Institute of Canterbury before completing further study in Japanese literature and art theory at the University of Canterbury.
His early professional career included art direction and design, establishing a strong understanding of visual communication, composition and form before he committed himself fully to painting.
Lance’s paintings are characterised by energetic marks, layered surfaces, colour and texture. Movement and stillness exist alongside one another, creating an ongoing dialogue between the expressive and the restrained.
His practice is informed by Integral Philosophy, Buddhism, Japanese aesthetics and Eastern somatic traditions. Ideas surrounding consciousness, interconnection, liminal space and the relationship between emptiness and form recur throughout the work.
A longstanding engagement with Qigong has also shaped the physical and contemplative dimensions of Lance’s painting. As a qualified Qigong teacher, he considers the relationship between body, mind and creative action an important part of the making process.
Gesture becomes more than a visual mark. It carries movement, breath, attention and the physical presence of the artist, allowing each painting to emerge through an exchange between intention and instinct.
Lance’s first visit to Japan in 2019 had a significant impact on his work, deepening his connection with Japanese culture and its approaches to space, simplicity and aesthetic experience.
He has exhibited across New Zealand since the late 1990s, with solo and group presentations in Christchurch, Nelson, Greymouth, Westport and Wellington.
Internationally, his work has been shown in Bologna and Venice, Italy, alongside projects in Los Angeles. In 2021, his work was included in Curatorial Volume 3, published by Melbourne’s Capsule Books.
Through a synthesis of abstraction, philosophical enquiry and embodied practice, Lance creates paintings that resist a single fixed reading. Instead, they invite the viewer into an evolving encounter between material, consciousness and experience.
Because perception is never entirely still—it changes with every moment, movement and way of looking.
Lance Kerr
Deep teal and raised geometric marks create a quiet abstract work with a strong sense of depth.
In Empty Construct, Lance Kerr places overlapping, textured forms near the top of a softly shifting teal field. A dark rectangular stroke anchors the composition, while lighter turquoise, smoky shadows and a small blush passage soften the lower edge.
The balance between concentrated texture and open space reflects Kerr’s interest in emptiness and form. Drawing on philosophy and Japanese aesthetics, his practice invites close attention to subtle changes in colour, surface and perception.
This painting would bring depth and calm colour to a living room, bedroom or study, working beautifully with natural timber, warm neutrals or a bold contrasting wall.
Contemplative · Textural · Atmospheric
Acrylic on canvas · 46 cm wide × 61 cm high × 3.5 cm deep · 2026