In the studio with….Liz West
18 May 2021
Hundreds and Thousands commissioned by Greenwich Peninsula, on The Tide at Greenwich Peninsula, 2021 (© Charles Emerson)
Liz West (b. 1985) is a British artist who graduated from Glasgow School of Art and whose body of work encompasses site-specific installations, sculpture, and wall-based artwork. West creates vivid environments that mix luminous colour and radiant light. 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. By playing and adjusting colour, West brings out the intensity and composition of her spatial arrangements.
Liz West has been commissioned worldwide by institutions and organisations including Greenwich Peninsula, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Natural History Museum, National Trust, National Science and Media Museum, London Design Festival, Natural England, Allied London, Grosvenor, British Land, Salford University, Leftcoast, Allenheads Contemporary Arts and Bristol Biennial. West's work has been included in exhibitions with St Albans Museum + Gallery, Daniel Benjamin Gallery, University of Hertfordshire, Chester Cathedral, Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces, Cornerhouse, Brunel University, Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre, UK Young Artists and Royal British Society of Sculptors in the UK, as well as internationally in Italy, Dubai, France, Germany, Spain, India and USA.
Your Colour Perception, 2015 (©Stephen Iles)
Colour Transfer, Paddington Central’s Westway Bridge, 2018 (© Jason Bailey Studio)
As an artist how do you keep up with what is happening in the art world?
At the moment, with no galleries being open, I have had to purely indulgence my art intake through the internet, social media, and conversations. I follow a lot of my favourite galleries, museums, and studios on Instagram, they have been continually posting throughout the closures which has been great as a source of inspiration. I am really looking forward to seeing art in person again soon, as I am sure a lot of people are! There’s nothing quite like it...
What is your favourite work of art and why?
I have so many favourites! My favourite artwork to own and have in my home would be different to my favourite experiential work, favourite installation, favourite sculpture, or favourite painting. Luckily there is so much variation in the world that it makes it impossible to choose. It would be easier to tell you about pieces that have made a huge impact on me personally and professionally.
Stepping onto Jim Lambie’s Zobop at Tate Britain’s 2003 exhibition Days Like These was a pivotal moment. It was the first time (as a young adult) that I experienced an immersive colour work on such a huge scale. I thought about how, if I ever became an artist myself, would make such a lasting impact on my viewers like this work did for me. Invigilating James Turrell’s show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park as a weekend girl was transformative. I spent hours on end inside Ganzfeld, appreciating the complexities of the immersive light work and watching people’s individual reactions to it.
What is your favourite art book?
My all-time favourite art book is Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees. It chronicles three decades of conversation between Lawrence Weschler and light and space master Robert Irwin. I consumed it within a week, which is unusual for me. It chronicles his life and work trajectory in a very open and honest way - very refreshing. I think it would be interesting for any artist or art professional to read as it details all the trials, tribulations, successes, and disagreements of making both large scale and studio-based works and ideas.
What are you currently on and what inspired you to make this work?
This year I have exhibitions and commissions, both permanent and temporary, opening in Lille, France (May - November), Canary Wharf Summer Lights (June - August), Barnaby Festival, Macclesfield (June), Salford City Centre (launching July) and MediaCityUK (launching August). All these works are part of my ongoing investigations into spatial light based upon my research into colour theory and light fields with an ambition to transform architectural spaces and public environments. I feel that both colour and light exist as a universal language that anyone can understand, no matter what background, race, gender, or religion. They are phenomena that are constantly around us; through my work I want to slow people down and encourage visitors to stop and 'look' in order to appreciate the beauty in our world. We need this vivid colour and luminous light more than ever as we slowly emerge from lockdown and the lonely and horrendous year we have all collectively experienced.
What would you like a collector to look at and know about your work?
I would like collectors to know about how and why I make the work I do; I speak openly and honestly about my journey during my artist talks and therefore would invite anyone interested in my work to come along to my next one (in person or digitally). The work I make is a self-portrait, to thoroughly understand the rationale behind the work, it is important to meet and talk to the artist. I love having conversations about my work, it takes me away from the insular studio life.