Liz West shortlisted for 2016 Aesthetica Art Prize, Exhibition and Book

The Aesthetica Art Prize shortlist and longlist have been announced, featuring 100 contemporary artists from around the world. The shortlist includes 10 artists whose work will be exhibited in York from 14 April to 29 May at York St Mary’s – York Art Gallery‘s contemporary art space. The exhibition celebrates excellence in contemporary art, spanning photography, painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, artists’ film and performance.

Alongside the exhibited works, there will also be a series of free lunchtime talks led by key figures in the art world, including artists and curators. These talks will enable audiences to further their engagement with the exhibition, and explore best practice across a range of disciplines. Industry professionals will also provide a unique insight into the creative sector from both organisational and individual perspectives.

Shortlisted artists include Ellie Davies, whose submission Between the Trees 14, 2014, was included in The Royal Academy of Arts 2015 Summer Exhibition in London, and Manchester-based emerging artist Liz West, recipient of an RBS Bursary Award 2015, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London.

Andrea Luka Zimmerman, recently shortlisted for Film London’s Jarman Award was also selected for the Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition, along with Henry Driver, who has exhibited at Tate Britain and Tate Liverpool, as well as across the UK. Other finalists include Adriana Salazar, David Hochgatterer, Gabriela Torres Ruiz, James Winter, Jennifer López Ayala and Rachel Ara.

A further 90 artists are featured in the longlist. Their work will be published alongside the shortlisted pieces in the Aesthetica Art Prize Annual, a publication that accompanies the exhibition in spring. Showcasing cutting-edge practice from today’s pioneering artists, this book is an inspiring collection that encourages an awareness of the innovative work being produced around the world today.

The longlisted artists’ works will also be displayed on a monitor in the gallery, enabling the audiences to explore the diversity of work included in the Prize. The longlisted and shortlisted pieces connect with issues relevant in today’s society and contemplate topics such as the environment, urbanisation, technology, loss of the individual and globalisation. The Prize also highlights work that challenges its own genre and provokes debate around its form and function.

See the full shortlist and longlist here.

The Aesthetica Art Prize is currently open for the 2017 exhibition. To enter, and for submission guidelines, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/art-prize

Liz West in New Thames & Hudson Publication

Liz West has works in the forthcoming Thames & Hudson publication 'LUMITECHURE Illuminating Interiors for Designers & Architects' by Anna Yudina. The book will be released in hardcover on the 29th February 2016.

"The role of light in architecture extends well beyond practical requirements. Light can create an environment, saturate a space with emotion, and compose spatial illusions. When manipulated in the right ways, light makes an architectural space livable, shapes it, and guides the inhabitant through it. As our homes and buildings become increasingly interactive and connected to the “internet of things” (where physical objects such as a lamp or microwave are programmed in the “cloud”), the creative possibilities for lighting are growing exponentially.

This timely publication captures the most imaginative ideas for the use of light in homes and buildings. Some 200 projects are organized into three sections: lighting that transforms space, lighting that alters the experience of time, and lighting that evokes emotion or psychological change. Projects range from design solutions— practical applications and techniques for improving the ambience and function of our spaces for living and working—to highly experimental or immersive experiences that induce physiological responses or use entirely new sources of light, such as bioluminescence or rarefied gasses."

More information: 
http://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/lumitecture-illuminating-interiors-for-designers-and-architects-hardcover 

Buy the book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lumitecture-Illuminating-Interiors-Architects-Anna-Yudina/dp/0500518343

Liz West at Light + Building, Frankfurt

The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) has announced the full program for IALD Lighting Perspectives, its two-day seminar at Light + Building 2016 this March in Frankfurt, Germany. This one-track conference features individual drop-in sessions provided to Light + Building attendees free of charge.

During IALD Lighting Perspectives, architectural lighting designers from around the world will give 60 minute talks – ranging from collaborative success stories to the latest technological discoveries – but the common theme among all of these perspectives is an insight on the light where these cutting edge designers work and live.

Next door to the sessions, IALD welcomes one and all to the Designers Lounge, featuring an installation by light artist Liz West. The IALD has involved the talents of West to make the Designers Lounge an appealing space to meet and connect with others – and with light! West’s work focuses on the human reaction to pure colour. In 2015, she exhibited more than twelve works in the United Kingdom, including the internationally acclaimed Your Colour Perception.

As a contributor to IALD Lighting Perspectives, West will be speaking during her session about her past works, her design theory, and her newest creation for the Designer’s Lounge.

Liz West will be speaking at Light+Building IALD Lighting Perspectives on Monday 14th March at 10:45 – 11:45am. Her talk REAL COLOUR: LIGHT AS MATERIAL will focus on the uses of light as a material that radiates outside of its boundaries and containers. She will speak about her past works and future projects as well as her journey of becoming an artist.