Chris Levine lights up Houghton Hall

Chris Levine is the latest British artist to transform Houghton Hall in Norfolk. He will be the seventh artist to hold a major solo show in the grounds and historic halls, following in the footsteps of Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and, most recently, sculptor Tony Cragg.

 

Levine’s 528 Hz Love Frequency will be the inaugural winter show of the prestigious art venue and will run between 22 October and 23 December 2021. The exhibition, Levine’s largest to date, will present a body of new work created specifically for the Hall’s unique grounds and house and will include holographic artworks, print works and large immersive laser and LED installations.

 

Many of you will know Levine for producing light portraits of notable cultural figures, most famously Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. His depiction of the Queen in ‘Lightness of Being’ (2012) is widely considered to be one of the most iconic images of the 21st century and was described by the National Portrait Gallery as the most evocative image of a royal by any artist. The iconic portrait will be exhibited alongside works of other famous sitters including Kate Moss, Banksy and Grace Jones in the South Wing gallery.

 

The centrepiece of 528 Hz Love Frequency is a vast spherical structure, ‘Molecule of Light’which emits a sound beam on the front lawn. Visitors can immerse themselves, one at a time, in modulating sound frequencies on the solfeggio scale, which relate to sacred geometry and correlate to the body’s energy points known as chakras. Levine hopes it will draw audiences into a brief meditative state that is both uplifting and purifying. At night, the sphere also becomes the centre of an immersive field of high-powered lasers, which transform the grounds of Houghton.

 

On his Houghton debut, Levine said: “It’s a great honour to be showing at Houghton. All my endeavours to create work that is truly experiential and transformative have brought me to this defining moment. I’ve always sought to create art that draws the viewer to stillness and into a meditative expansive state. The more the work can be accessed through the heart and not needing to be mentally processed allows for a deeper sensory experience and something that moves us emotionally and with a positive impact on our physiological state.”

 

528 Hz Love Frequency will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 22 October to 23 December 2021 between 4.30pm to 9pm. Tickets are on sale now at www.houghtonhall.com.

September 30, 2021