Liz West
- Website ,
- 'X' (Twitter) ,
- Facebook ,
- Instagram ,
- Blog
Liz West (b.1985) is a British artist known for her wide-ranging works, from the intimate to the monumental. Using a variety of materials and exploring the use of light, she blurs the boundaries between sculpture, architecture, design and painting to create works that are both playful and immersive.
West creates vivid environments that mix luminous colour and radiant light. West aims to provoke a heightened sensory awareness in the viewer through her works. She is interested in exploring how sensory phenomena can invoke psychological and physical responses that tap into our own deeply entrenched relationships to colour. West's investigation into the relationship between colour and light is often realised through an engagement between materiality and a given site. Our understanding of colour can only be realised through the presence of light. By playing and adjusting colour, West brings out the intensity and composition of her spatial arrangements.
West has been commissioned worldwide by institutions and organisations including Natural History Museum, London Design Festival, Paris Fashion Week, Milan Design Week, National Trust, National Science and Media Museum, Dubai Design Week, Natural England, Salford University, Fortnum & Mason for London Design Festival and Bristol Biennial. West’s work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Farol Santander São Paulo, Jodhpur Art Week India, Hyvinkää Art Museum Finland, St Albans Museum + Gallery, Chester Cathedral, Bangalore International and Centre and Musée Nissim de Camondo in Paris; and group exhibitions at Trapholt Denmark, Kraftwerk Berlin, Tripostal Lille and Compton Verney.
Selected Solo Exhibitions / Presentations
2024
Our Colour Reflection, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK
Tiered Reflections, Toorji Ka Jhalra, Jodhpur, India
Chroma - As Cores de Liz West, Farol Santander, São Paulo, Brazil
Your Kaleidoscope, Chester Cathedral, Chester, UK
Through No.5, Burlington Waterfront Sculpture Trail (Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection), Ontario, Canada
Our Colour Reflection, Evi Lichtungen - Light Art Biennial, Hildesheim, Germany
2023
Our Spectral Vision, The Vaults, (Put Big Light On), Bolton, UK
Hymn to the Big Wheel, Metropolis at Metrotown, Vancouver, Canada
2022
Hymn to the Big Wheel, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
Our Spectral Vision, Trencherfield Mill & Our Colour Reflection, Wigan Pier, (Light Night Wigan), Wigan
Hymn to the Big Wheel, Manhattan West & Brookfield Place, New York, USA
Our Colour Reflection, Les 3 CHA centre d’art, Châteaugiron, France
2021
Hymn to the Big Wheel (Lumiere), Ushaw Historic House & Gardens, Durham, UK
Presence, Christ Church (Barnaby Festival), Macclesfield, UK
2020
In Physical Reality, Hyvinkää Art Museum, Finland
Through No.3, Duke of York Square (Kensington + Chelsea Art Week), London, UK
Colour-ways: Light works by Liz West, The Wilson, Cheltenham, UK (available online only)
2019
Our Colour Reflection, Bangalore International Centre (Bengaluru By Design), Bangalore, India
Dans la Lumière, Beaulieu-en-Rouergue Abbey, France
Live Colour, Clerkenwell Design Week, London, UK
Aglow, Milan Design Week, Piazza Belgioioso, Milan, Italy
Our Colour Reflection, St Albans Museum + Gallery, St Albans, UK
2018
Colour Field, The Civic, Barnsley, UK
Aglow, Paris Fashion Week, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, France / Dubai Design District, Dubai, UAE
Our Colour Reflection, Chester Cathedral, Chester, UK
2016
Autumn Lights, Little Moreton Hall, National Trust, Cheshire, UK
Our Colour, Bristol Biennial, Bristol, UK
Solstice Ritual, Penarth Pier Pavilion, Penarth, UK
Our Colour Reflection, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, St. Marks Church, London, Broadgate, London, UK
2015
Zenith Blue + Primary Red, ARCADECARDIFF, Cardiff, UK
The Light Room - Your Colour Perception, The Willis Museum, Basingstoke, UK
Your Colour Perception, Federation House, Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces, Manchester, UK
2013
On Brown & Violet Grounds, Piccadilly Place/Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester, UK
2012
Chroma, BLANKSPACE Gallery, Manchester, UK
Selected Commissions
2021
Slow Revolution, Greengate, Salford; Commissioned by Salford City Council (forthcoming)
Through No.4, MediaCityUK, Salford; Commissioned by Quays Culture (forthcoming)
Hymn to the Big Wheel, Canary Wharf, London; Commissioned by Canary Wharf
Hundreds and Thousands, The Tide, London; Commissioned by Greenwich Peninsula
2020
Our Melody Unwound, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Liverpool; Commissioned by Clatterbridge Cancer Charity
2019
Iri-Descent, Fortnum and Mason, London; Commissioned by London Design Festival
Swathe, Browns East, London; Commissioned by Browns Fashion
ITV Ident (May 13 - 19); Commissioned by ITV Creative
2018
Aglow, Paris / Dubai / Milan; Commissioned by Nemozena
Colour Transfer, Paddington Central, London; Commissioned by British Land
A Subjective Mix, The National Festival of Marking, Blackburn; Commissioned by Deco Publique
2016
Sevenfold, Bury; Commissioned by The Met Theatre
Our Spectral Vision, Colour and Vision Exhibition, London; Commissioned by Natural History Museum
2015
Through No.3, Spinningfields, Manchester; Commissioned by Castlefield Gallery and Allied London
An Additive Mix, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford; Commissioned by Science Museum London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
FEEL ME – MIND x BODY x SPACE, Trapholt Museum for Modern Art and Design, Denmark (forthcoming)
Processing… The Exhibition, Birmingham Design Festival, Birmingham, UK
Giorni Felici, Pareidolia Foundation, Palazzo Dandolo Parisi, Venice, Italy
Reflection on Light, Gothic House, Charlbury, UK
Collected Light: From Legacy to Future, H Queen’s, Central, Hong Kong
2023
Collected Light, Cascina Cuccagna, Milan, Italy
KK Trove, SqW: Lab, Mumbai, India
2022
People You Love, MTArt Agency x UBP, Monaco
2021
Colors, etc, Tripostal, Lille, France
2020
The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, Online
2019
Luce, Daniel Benjamin Gallery, London, UK
Abstract Allies, Zuleika Gallery, London, UK
Colour Snap, Art and Design Gallery, University of Hertfordshire, UK
2017
Perspective Playground, Kraftwerk, Berlin, Germany
Seurat to Riley: The Art of Perception, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, UK
Drawing for Sculpture, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, UK
Winter Lights Festival, Canary Wharf, London, UK
2016
Colour Wheel, Vernon Street Gallery, Leeds College of Art, Leeds, UK
Aesthetica Art Prize, York St Mary’s, York Museums Trust, York, UK
Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award Exhibition, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London, UK
2015
Light Fantastic, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, UK
Unnatural Pleasures, Radiant Gallery, Plymouth, UK
2013
Synthesis, Victoria Warehouse Hotel (part of Manchester Science Festival), Manchester, UK
Four, Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
2012
World Event Young Artists, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham, UK
Still Here, Untitled BCN, Barcelona, Spain
2011
The Tomorrow People, Elevator Gallery, London, UK
At Play 3, South Hill Park, Bracknell, UK
The Title Art Prize, Manchester, UK
Colour, Beldam Gallery, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK
Woolgather Art Prize, Leeds, UK
2010
Expectations, The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Deptford X, Core Gallery, London, UK
Collagerie, Stew Gallery, Norwich, UK
Celeste International Art Prize, New York, USA
Northern Futures Awards, Barnsley, UK (winner People’s Choice Award)
The National Open Art Competition, Chichester, UK
Awards & Prizes
2016
Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts Award
2015
RBS Bursary Award 2015, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London
2013
Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts Award
2012
Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts Award
Artists Talks
2024
Gothic House, Charlbury, 18 April
Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire, 17 April
2023
Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania/Online, 23 November
2022
Theatre, Dance & Media Course, Harvard University, USA/Online, 13 October
Arup, Manchester, 26 September
Colour Beyond Aesthetic, Clerkenwell Design Week, London, 26 May
Light Art Symposium, Light and Energy Research Center, Chile (Online), 17 May
Guiding Lights Conversations, The Department of Physics and the London Institute for Advanced Light Technologies (LIALT), King’s College London + Science Gallery London, 16 May
SHIFT Mentoring Program 2022, Finnish Art Agency, Finland (Online), 4 May
2021
Birmingham Design Festival, Online, 19 August
Barnaby Festival, Christ Church, Macclesfield, 26 June
Colour Talk, The Interdisciplinary Colour Association Belgium (ICA-Belgium), Online, 23 May
How To Be Brilliant At Celebrating Colour, Institution of Lighting Professionals, Online, 10 May
Lighting Design Course, Boston College, USA/Online,19 April
nternational Creative Business Basics Course, The University of the Arts, Helsinki/Online, 14 April
Colour Illuminated: Liz West in Conversation with Kaia Charles, Online, 6 April
Iridescence Day, Colour Group (GB), Online, 3 February
2020
Reflections - Halo Artist Panel, Hyvinkää Art Museum, Finland, 30 October
Bridget Riley: Painting and Perception, Southbank Centre, London, 18 January
2019
Istanbul Light, Turkey, 20 September
Clerkenwell Design Week, London, 23 May
Domus Clerkenwell, London, 21 May
Milan Design Week, Zona K, Milan, 9 April
Stockholm, Sweden, 12 February
Battersea Power Station West, London, 16 January
2018
Science Museum Lates, London, 28 November
Chester Cathedral, Chester, 27 February
super/collider presents, Second Home, London, 20 February
2017
Lysets Dag, Oslo, Norway, 22 November
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, 8 March
University of South Wales, Pontypridd Campus, Treforest, 2 February
University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, 18 January
2016
Good Morning House, Suwon, South Korea 16 November
UK Young Artists National Festival, University of Derby, Derby, 4 November
IALD Enlighten Americas at Sheraton Convention Centre, Mexico, 14 October
Lysets Dag at Dansk Centre for Lys, Copenhagen, Denmark, 7 October
IALD Lighting Perspectives at Light + Building, Frankfurt, Germany,14 March
BDP, London, 14 January
2015
LightspacedotLondon at Lux Live, Excel Centre, London, 18 November
Nourishment, Roots and Wings, Hull, 30 July
BDP, Manchester, 15 April
2014
Cornerhouse, Manchester, 17 May
Future City Series, The University of Salford & Quays Culture, 2 April
Press and Publication History
Bulgari: Beyond Time, Assouline, 2023, ISBN: 9781649802316
Collected Light Volume One: Women Light Artists, Light Collective, 2023, ISBN: 978-1739141615
MIX Magazine, Issue 55, Autumn Winter 2020/21
Ljuskultur Magazine, March 2019
Architectural Digest Middle East Magazine, February 2019
One Artist, One Material: Fifty-five makers on their medium, Frame Publishers, 2018, ISBN: 978-9492311276
MIX Magazine, Issue 55, Autumn Winter 2020/21
Ljuskultur Magazine, March 2019
Architectural Digest Middle East Magazine, February 2019
New Media Installation, Gingko Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-1584237181
Lust for Light - Illuminated Works by Hannah Stouffer, Gingko Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-1584236818
One Artist, One Material: Fifty-five makers on their medium, Frame Publishers, 2018, ISBN: 978-9492311276
MIX Magazine, Issue 55, Autumn Winter 2020/21
Architectural Digest Middle East Magazine, February 2019
Mondo Magazine, Issue 96, February/March 2017
Emboss Magazine, Issue 6 (USA), 2017
IW Magazine, January (China), 2017
Design Magazine, January (South Korea), 2017
Professional Lighting Design Magazine, No. 103, November/December 2016
One Artist / One Material, FRAME Magazine, November/December, 2016
Lumitecture: Illuminating Interiors for Designers and Architects by Anna Yudina, Thames & Hudson, 2016, ISBN: 978-0500518342
Lumière : La lumière dans l'art contemporain by Céline Delavaux, Palette, 2015, ISBN: 978-2358321952
Frame Magazine, November/December 2015
Mondo*Arc Magazine, Issue 87, October/November 2015
Lighting Magazine: Illumination in Architecture, Volume 47 Issue 5, October 2015
Professional Lighting Design Magazine, No.99, September/October 2015
Mondo*Arc Magazine, Issue 86, August/September 2015
Work on the Line (Artist Book Collaboration with David Penny), 2015, Metal
Professional Lighting Design Magazine, No.97, March/April 2015
Interior|Fashion Magazine (Germany), 2015
Hi Home Magazine (Russia), 2015
Frame Magazine, May/June 2015
