Lecture: Let There Be Light

Throughout the history of visual art, light has played a central role in the representation of objects, bodies, and spaces. Beginning with a brief introduction to its role before the twentieth century, this lecture examines the moment in modern art when light ceased to function solely as something depicted and became a material in its own right.

The lecture explores how contemporary artists have worked with natural and artificial light as both physical substance and conceptual content. Neon, fluorescent tubes, projections, LEDs, shadows, reflections, and changes in illumination have allowed artists to expand the relationship between artwork, space, and viewer. Through key works and artists, the lecture examines light as material, medium, subject, and idea, showing how something intangible can become one of the most powerful means of making art.

About:
Dr Antonio Geusa is an art historian, curator, and lecturer specialising in contemporary art. He holds a PhD in Media Arts from the University of London. His work moves between research, curating, and institutional collaboration. He has served as an adjunct curator at Tate in London and has lectured or provided curatorial and strategic consultancy for major cultural institutions, including the Centre Pompidou, BOZAR, The Photographers’ Gallery, and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

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