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Liz West

  • WORKS
  • ABOUT
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT

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, The Mercer Art Gallery Harrogate, Farol Santander São Paulo, Jodhpur Art Week India, Hyvinkää Art Museum Finland, St Albans Museum + Gallery, Chester Cathedral, Bangalore International Centre India and Musée Nissim de Camondo Paris; and group exhibitions at Trapholt Denmark, Kraftwerk Berlin, Tripostal Lille and Compton Verney UK.

Photo credit: Charles Emerson

SOLO EXHIBITIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

2025

H.A.P.P.Y, The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate, UK

Tiered Reflections, British Council, New Delhi, India

2024

Our Colour Reflection, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK

Tiered Reflections, Toorji Ka Jhalra, Jodhpur Art Week, 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

Colour-ways: Light works by Liz West, The Wilson, Cheltenham (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, Piazza Belgioioso, Milan, Italy

Our Colour Reflection, St Albans Museum + Gallery, St Albans, UK

2018  

Colour Field, The Civic, Barnsley, UK

Aglow, Dubai Design District, Dubai, UAE

Aglow, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, France

Our Colour Reflection, Chester Cathedral, Chester, UK

2016  

Autumn Lights, Little Moreton Hall, National Trust, Cheshire

Our Colour, Pithay Studios, Bristol Biennial, Bristol

Solstice Ritual, Penarth Pier Pavilion, Penarth

Our Colour Reflection, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe; St. Marks Church London and Broadgate London

2015  

Zenith Blue + Primary Red, ARCADECARDIFF, Cardiff

The Light Room - Your Colour Perception, The Willis Museum, Basingstoke

Through, &model, Leeds

Your Colour Perception, Federation House, Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces, Manchester

2013  

On Brown & Violet Grounds, Piccadilly Place/Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester,

2012  

Chroma, BLANKSPACE Gallery, Manchester

ARTIST TALKS

2025

Reflexions and Refractions. When Glass Meets Light, Bauhaus University, Weimar, Germany, 26 February

Ending the cycle: What makes a support system sustainable for artists, Panel Discussion, Jaipur Art Week, India, 29 January

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

International 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

The Civic, Barnsley, 27 October

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

Broadgate Welcome Centre, Broadgate (British Land), 8 February

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 Center, Mexico, 14 October

Lysets Dag at Dansk Center 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

COMMISSIONS AND AWARDS

2024

Fluorescence, King’s Cross Granary Square, London

2023

Untitled, Westfield Rosny 2, Paris, France

Zigazig, Guy’s Hospital, London

2022  

Align, Museum of Broadway, New York, USA

Gradient Remix, Color Factory, Chicago, USA

Winner, Judges’ Choice: Art, Women In Lighting, The WIL Awards

2021  

Surround In, Kong, Coventry; Commissioned by The Show Windows in partnership with Coventry City of Culture Trust

Drop Scene; Millburngate, Durham; Commissioned by Artichoke Trust

Slow Revolution, Greengate, Salford; Commissioned by Salford City Council

Through No.4, MediaCityUK, Salford; Commissioned by Quays Culture

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, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Liverpool; Commissioned by The 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, Musée Nissim de Camondo in Paris, Dubai Design District in UAE and Piazza Belgioioso in Milan; Commissioned by Nemozena

Colour Transfer, Paddington Central, London; Commissioned by British Land

A Subjective Mix, The National Festival of Making, The Exchange, Blackburn; Commissioned by Super Slow Way & Deco Publique

2016  

Sevenfold, Bury; Commissioned by The Met Theatre

Our Spectral Vision, Colour and Vision: Through the Eyes of Nature Exhibition, London; Commissioned by Natural History Museum

Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts Award

2015  

Through No.3, Spinningfields, Manchester; Commissioned by Castlefield Gallery and Allied London

An Additive Mix, Light Fantastic Exhibition, National Media Museum, Bradford; Commissioned by Science Museum London

2013  

Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts Award

2012  

Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts Award

PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS

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

New Media Installation, Gingko Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-1584237181

Lust for Light - Illuminated Works by Hannah Stouffer, Gingko Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-1584236818

The Magazine, Yorkshire Post, 18 November 2018

The World of Interiors Magazine, August 2017

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/Decemeber 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

In The City, Hanover Project/Victoria Lucas, 2014. ISBN: 978-0993036217

Reunion: The Dallas Review, University of Texas, 2014. ISSN: 2160-2190  

Constructing my Survival, EDGECondition, Art & Architecture, vol.3, September 2014

The Language of Mixed Media Sculpture by Jac Scott, The Crowood Press Ltd, 2014. ISBN: 978-1847977212

Exeter Living, Issue 154, March 2014

The Big Issue, Issue 962, 21 January 2013

Independent on Sunday, 26 August 2012

Chroma (exhibition catalogue), Kroma Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0956768513

The Title Art Prize (exhibition catalogue), 2011   

Woolgather Art Prize (exhibition catalogue), East Street Arts, 2011. ISBN: 978-1906470081

Celeste Art Prize ( exhibition catalogue), Zel Edizioni, 2010. ISBN: 978-8896600238   

Expectations New York/Berlin (exhibition catalogue), Zel Edizioni, 2010. ISBN: 978-8896600283   

36EXP. (exhibition catalogue), 2010

A Moving Exhibition (exhibition catalogue), 2010. ISBN: 978-1445770680

Talent of the First Degree, Jack Mottram, The Herald, 15 June 2007. ISSN 1671-339

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025

Back to the Cave - The Full Spectrum, Clearwell Caves, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK

Here We Glow, Westfield, Shepherds Bush, London

2024

FEEL ME –  MIND x BODY x SPACE, Trapholt Museum for Modern Art and Design, Denmark

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

Huetopia, Noho Studios, London, UK   

Abstract Allies, Zuleika Gallery, London

Colour Snap, Art and Design Gallery, University of Hertfordshire

2017  

Perspective Playground, Kraftwerk, Berlin

Seurat to Riley: The Art of Perception, Compton Verney, Warwickshire

Drawing for Sculpture, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe

Winter Lights Festival, Canary Wharf, London

2016  

Colour Wheel, Vernon Street Gallery, Leeds Arts University, Leeds

Aesthetica Art Prize, York St Mary’s, York

Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award Exhibition, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London

2015  

Light Fantastic, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford

Unnatural Pleasures, Radiant Gallery, Plymouth

2013  

Synthesis, Victoria Warehouse Hotel (part of Manchester Science Festival), Manchester

Four, Cornerhouse, Manchester

2012  

World Event Young Artists, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham,                       

Still Here, Untitled BCN, Barcelona,

2011  

The Tomorrow People, Elevator Gallery, London

At Play 3, South Hill Park, Bracknell                     

Colour, Beldam Gallery, Brunel University, Uxbridge

The Title Art Prize, Manchester (shortlisted)

Woolgather Art Prize, Leeds (shortlisted)

2010  

Expectations, The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, New York

Deptford X, Core Gallery, London

Collagerie, Stew Gallery, Norwich

Celeste International Art Prize, New York

Northern Futures Awards, Barnsley (winner People’s Choice Award)

The National Open Art Competition, Chichester