I don’t think an artist should really put his work on a pedestal because he isn’t the one to determine the aesthetic value. When someone buys a piece of work, that is the only compliment. Anything else could just be flattery.
Doyle Lane
Adam Blackman and David Cruz officially embarked on their venture, Blackman Cruz, in 1993; in the three decades since, they have created—and helped create—countless worlds, purveying objects of beauty and curiosity (dare we say magic?) culled from around the world. Operating from Los Angeles, the pair first showed their wares in a West Hollywood showroom on La Cienega and, in 2007, moved into their current home on Highland Avenue—an expansive space that was formerly the infamous gay nightclub Probe, known not least for basically playing itself in American Gigolo.
If discussing patina and provenance over a once booze-soaked bar seems incongruous, one might argue that such incongruity is characteristic of both Los Angeles and Blackman Cruz. At the center of the “dream factory,” worlds collide—and collision is perhaps what Blackman and Cruz do best. The pair’s “odd couple partnership,” as the New York Times put it, is the force behind an aesthetic sense that is delightfully difficult to pigeonhole. As the title of their recently released book Beauty & Mischief: The Design Alchemy of Blackman Cruz suggests, Blackman Cruz’s eye together encompasses the serious, sexy, and silly, and the myriad permutations therein. You might find, as one does in this auction, a stunning 1902 Carlo Bugatti chair (itself a treatise on material alchemy) next to an antique drum-playing rabbit automaton (restored to working order by an aerospace engineer), or a painstakingly beaded papoose from Borneo alongside an iconic mid-century modern sofa by Poul Kjærjolm, or a softly glowing snake lamp by Frank Gehry. Or impossibly elegant Gazelle lounges by Dan Johnson, or...Or. Or. Or.
Significantly and much to their credit, Blackman and Cruz have not shied away from certain elements of the archetypal curiosity shop. “We’re merchants,” their website declares. “We sell life enhancers.” In leaning into the longstanding lineage of rarity-purveyors, they show that they recognize the preciousness of curiosity itself—and the adjacent elements of surprise and fantasy. They let themselves be led by the search, and the excitement of the find is gleefully passed to their audience. That said, there are certain figures who serve as touchstones for the pair, designers whose sensibilities mesh well with Blackman Cruz’s vision: Bugatti is among them, as well as Pepe Mendoza and Arturo Pani, both from Mexico City and featured amply in the collection offered here. And then there is the Blackman Cruz Workshop, founded in 1998 by Blackman, Cruz, and creative director Lika Moore, offering limited edition lighting and furniture; among the works selected here are two metalworked lamps by Moore and the uncannily “dripping” Leary marble table.
Design is typically a studied thing, where precision takes precedence. Blackman Cruz breathes a little refreshing chaos into the discipline, finding a comfortable perch amidst a multiplicity of exciting tensions: ancient and contemporary, scientific and spiritual, restrained and resplendent. In our era of ubiquitous quantification and optimization, Blackman Cruz extends an invitation to not be afraid of what draws us in—even if it can’t be named or measured. In other words, to revel in the possibilities of enchantment.
Doyle Lane 1925–2002
Doyle Lane was a master craftsman, a true artist with an enormous talent matched only by his technical skills. Born in New Orleans in 1925, Lane moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s and maintained a studio in the El Sereno district. He studied at Los Angeles City College and later attended the University of Southern California. Under the tutelage of designers Glen Lukens, Vivika Heino and F. Carlton Ball, Lane honed his pottery skills at the wheel and in the kiln, crafting beads, pots, stunningly glazed tiles and abstract “clay paintings”. Undeniably tactile and bold, his innovative glazes screamed to be touched. Ranging from volcanic and rugged to glossy and slick, Lane’s artworks are both physical and visual delights.
A committed artist, Lane supported himself through his artwork and technical expertise alone. When a fellow Black student at LACC declared ceramics as “…mainly for white people.” Lane bristled at the limitation. He had a tireless work ethic, spending countless hours in the studio perfecting his technique and using creative business strategies to promote and sell his works. (Lane was known to carry boxes of his “weed pots”—tiny bud vases for holding a single wildflower—to galleries and architectural offices in Los Angeles). These door-to-door ventures paid off, and the artist became popular with architects, completing many large-scale commissions for tile mosaics including works at the Golden State Bank, International Children’s School, Miller Robinson and the Mutual Savings and Loan Association (which was later acquired and installed at the Huntington Library in 2016). Along with public works, Lane exhibited at the Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park, at Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega and in the seminal California Design exhibitions in 1958, 1959 and 1960.
While he was an established and well-regarded figure in West Coast ceramics during his time, it is also undeniable that Lane was not afforded the same opportunities and representation as his white peers. In recent years, his oeuvre has garnered long-overdue and much deserved recognition, and Lane’s expertly crafted works continue to be highly sought-after by private collectors and institutions alike.
