Chris Levine: Light is organized around the artist’s sustained use of illumination as both material and subject. Rather than treating light simply as a means of making an image, Levine combines it with technology to alter how bodies, faces, architecture, and atmosphere are perceived. The resulting monograph places his portraiture beside installation, sculpture, and public art, allowing recurrent concerns—stillness, radiance, presence, and transformation—to emerge across different forms.

The first volume concentrates on portraits. At its center is Lightness of Being, Levine’s image of Queen Elizabeth II with her eyes closed, accompanied by studies of Kate Moss, Grace Jones, the Dalai Lama, and Sir Elton John. Seen together, these works show how Levine moves beyond conventional likeness: controlled light and moments of composure give each sitter a heightened yet restrained presence. The sequence also clarifies the meditative quality that distinguishes his approach from the declarative language of much celebrity portraiture.

A second volume broadens the account through Levine’s biography and working practice, tracing his passage from designer to artist after studying at Chelsea College of Art. It encompasses large-scale installations, sculptural works, public projects, light shows for Massive Attack, work at the Eden Project, and commercial commissions for Nissan and Swarovski. Particular attention is given to his 2020–21 project at Houghton Hall, where light intervened in both historic interiors and landscaped grounds.

Published by Prestel as a 224-page special edition, the two-volume hardcover set is presented in a slipcase, with contributions from Helen Chislett and Dylan Jones. Its value for a serious collection lies in the editorial structure: portraiture is not isolated from Levine’s spatial and technological experiments, but understood as part of the same inquiry. The paired volumes offer a focused account of how one contemporary artist has made light operate at once as image, environment, and mode of attention.