Sensory Systems

Sensory Systems documents an engaging group exhibition presented at the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, England, in autumn 2015. The exhibition is the first in a new annual program by the gallery each fall that will revolve around the theme of light, and timed to coincide with the famous Blackpool Illuminations – a six-mile-long outdoor display of lights that has drawn many visitors to the town each year since it was first switched on in 1912.

The exhibition and publication feature works by internationally acclaimed artists interested in the technology and science of light, and how this can be used to affect our perceptual experiences of space. Whether through sculpture, projection, or immersive architecture, each artwork presented in the exhibition invited a dialogue with the viewer, utilizing color, pattern, movement, and other factors to evoke a variety of spatial and sensory experiences.

The selection of prominent figures working internationally today who feature in the exhibition and publication are: Angela Bulloch, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Ann Veronica Janssens, Anthony McCall, and Conrad Shawcross. Among these, Anthony McCall was one of the early pioneers in the field, alongside figures such as James Turrell, Mary Corse, Robert Irwin, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Dan Flavin. McCall, who moved to New York from England in the early 1970s, was highly influential with his ‘solid light’ installations. In this exhibition and publication, McCall presents 'You and I, Horizontal' (2005), a slowly evolving, curving sculpture made of light.

The publication includes a foreword by Richard Parry, Curator at the Grundy Art Gallery, an essay by Dr. Luke Skrebowski, Director of Studies in History of Art at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, and has been designed by Joe Gilmore / Qubik. The project has been supported by Blackpool Council, Coastal Communities Fund, Arts Council England, and is co-published by the Grundy Art Gallery and Anomie Publishing. The publication is distributed internationally by Casemate Art.

Dr. Luke Skrebowski is Director of Studies in History of Art at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, and University Lecturer in the Department of History of Art. His research and teaching focus on the history and theory of late modern and contemporary art with a particular focus on Conceptual art and its legacies. His writing has appeared in journals including: Art History, Grey Room, Manifesta Journal, Tate Papers, and Third Text, as well as in numerous anthologies and exhibition catalogues. He studied at King’s College, Cambridge, before going on to complete a PhD at Middlesex University in 2009.

Richard Parry is Curator at Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool, England. He has previously worked as Assistant Curator at the Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre, London. His writing and criticism have appeared in journals including Modern Painters, Frieze, and ArtReview, as well as numerous exhibition catalogues.