What you see is not always what you get with American artist Spencer Finch. In the past, he’s painted shifting shades of grey on Sigmund Freud’s ceiling and the stains from water leaks on his own. He once recreated, with fluorescent tubes, the shadows of clouds passing over American poet Emily Dickinson’s Massachusetts garden. He has also transposed temperature measurements and the light from his studio window into beautifully whimsical works.
Fascinated by the things we see – and might not see – Finch’s painstaking technique relies on an almost scientific level of observation. But his real interest is in the more chimerical and intangible aspects of looking. 'People always consider science to be objective, but there is really a lot of subjectivity in that line of inquiry, by which I mean the scientific method. I think that is where the poetry slips in. Science can only tell us so much, and while it helps us with practical matters, it does not really help us feel and understand what it means to be human,' Finch explains.
His new exhibition – his third at the Lisson Gallery’s London branch – is partly inspired by Dickinson. ('She’s really a genius,' he says. 'She is able to speak so deeply and humanly about big ideas through seemingly minor observations of the very circumscribed world around her.') With a feeling of awe, Finch delves into the ephemeral magic and mystery of perception, using peripheral movement and light to explore experience beyond the limited definitions of optic science.
On show are new watercolours and pastel works on paper, alongside light boxes and an installation that place objectivity and subjectivity in parallel. Here, Finch followed a technically precise process to create his abstract visual poems, tracking the complex flight patterns of bees, recording the fog drifting over Lake Wononscopomuc, and transcribing the light as it falls at certain parts of the day on a vase of tulips. The elusive nature of human sight is at the crux of Finch’s current practice. 'I have been thinking about alternative ways of seeing, sort of beyond the visible spectrum, or beyond the conventions that normally inform our visual experience, seeing the world how others see it, or seeing through a heightened form of subjectivity.'
The exhibition is a glimpse into the artist’s thinking, ahead of the unveiling of his huge new public commission, A Cloud Index – an enormous, multicoloured glass canopy that will cover the new Paddington Crossrail station, planned to open in 2017.
Finch followed a technically precise process to create his abstract visual poems, tracking the complex flight patterns of bees and recording the fog drifting over Lake Wononscopomuc. Pictured: Fog (Lake Wononscopomuc), 2016
On show are new watercolours and pastel works on paper, alongside light boxes and an installation that place objectivity and subjectivity in parallel. Pictured: Sunflower (Bee’s View), 2016
Fascinated by the things we see – and might not see – Finch’s painstaking technique relies on an almost scientific level of observation. Pictured left: Still Life (Tulips) Morning, 2016. Right: Still Life (Tulips) Noon, 2016
The elusive nature of human sight is at the crux of Finch’s current practice. Pictured left: Still Life (Tulips) Afternoon, 2016. Right: Still Life (Tulips) Evening, 2016
INFORMATION
'Spencer Finch' runs from 1 April until 7 May. For more information, visit the Lisson Gallery website
Photography copyright the artist. Courtesy Lisson Gallery
ADDRESS
Lisson Gallery
52 Bell Street
London, NW1 5BU
-
In Shanghai, Hermès conjures a ‘cosmopolitan explorer’ for its one-off show on the Huangpu RiverNadège Vanhée, artistic director of Hermès’ womenswear collections, presented ‘The Second Chapter’ of her A/W 2025 collection earlier this evening (13 June 2025) against the futuristic skyline of Shanghai
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Peugeot brings back a classic performance badge for the electric era: meet the E-208 GTiPeugeot has unveiled the new E-208 GTi, a performance EV designed to hark back to a golden age of compact sports cars
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Kaari Upson’s unsettling, grotesque and seductive world in DenmarkThe Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark is staging the first comprehensive survey of late artist Kaari Upson’s work
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi YatesLondon has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Inside the brilliant and short career of Paul Thek: 'The goal was to live a creative existence as a maker – and he lived in a saint-like fashion'Paul Thek's paintings are now viewable at Thomas Dane Gallery in London, in an exhibition curated by Kenny Schacter and Jonathan Anderson.
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in LondonAlexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life storiesThe artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
-
Sexual health since 1987: archival LGBTQIA+ posters on show at Studio VoltaireA look back at how grassroots movements emphasised the need for effective sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community with a host of playful and informative posters, now part of a London exhibition
-
Ten things to see at London Gallery WeekendAs 125 galleries across London take part from 6-8 June 2025, here are ten things not to miss, from David Hockney’s ‘Love’ series to Kayode Ojo’s look at the superficiality of taste
