LIGHT 3.142
CHRIS LEVINE
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a
spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think
with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame
within us.”
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer put into words, our sentiments on Thursday
May 16, 2013, at the private viewing of the first major London
solo exhibition for Chris Levine by the Fine Art Society Contemporary in London. While most artist seek to draw from the
power of movement, this artist seeks to draw out the power of
stillness .
Chris Levine is a light artist who works across mediums in pursuit of a sensory experience through image and form. Levine’s
work considers light not just as a core aspect of art, but of human experience more widely with a spiritual and philosophical
edge underscoring his practice. Levine is perhaps best known
for producing what is already being described as an iconic image of the twenty-first century, Lightness of Being (2007). With
light at its core, this portrait of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presented a fresh depiction of
the most famous woman in the world.
Chris Levine: Light 3.142 acted as a survey of Levine’s work to
date, helping to contextualize the Queen and subsequent
portraiture within his immersive light installations. These are not
two modes of working, for Levine they are deeply interconnected and born from the cross-fertilization of disciplines including music, performance, installation, fashion and design.
Levine also unveiled new figurative work in which the next well
known subject is dramatically represented through the use of
his distinctive visual language. This major exhibition was staged
across the two main floors of The Fine Art Society – a rare occurrence for a contemporary artist. Like Whistler over 100 years
ago, Levine interrupted the natural light in the gallery to create
his own atmospheric environment, which acted as both the
subject and setting for his immersive light experiences. Levine
aim to turn down the volume on the world around us and focus attention on the energy of light, the very thing at the core
of all matter and space, and in doing so induce a meditative
state in the viewer, was a winning concept.
His worked compelled viewers to focus their attention to the
many dimensions of each piece, challenging their peripheral
vision to discover hidden messages and portraits. The exhibition feature d a range of media and light technology in the
works including laser, LED, blipverts, lenticulars, lightboxes, photography and his first silkscreens. The artist does not simply utilise existing materials and processes, he is a pioneer in this field,
creating and adapting technology in the pursuit of the widest
possible visual sensation. Chris Levine studied at Chelsea College of Art and Central Saint Martins. His exhibition Hypervisual 1.2 (1999) completed a tour of 12 countries with the British
Council. In 2012 his work featured in The Queen: Art and Image
at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
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