Gagosian Gallery in London Sheds Daylight on Art
2nd Feb 2016
Opened last month during London’s Frieze art fair, the new Gagosian Gallery
at 20 Grosvenor Hill in Mayfair is decked out with a state-of-the-art
lighting system that demonstrates how far LED technology has come.
Installed in the ceiling of two vast gallery spaces, a series of
closely spaced LED lights set behind glass panels are programed to use
two color temperatures – a cool array and a warm array – and can be set
at anything from 50 to over 1000 lux. The result is a scheme that can be
programmed to create a limitless variety of lighting options on the
gallery’s walls without more lighting equipment having to be added for
different types of exhibitions. Perhaps most impressively, the lights
are linked up to a set of sensors installed on the outside of the
building that are able to read and then replicate the external lighting
conditions within the gallery.
"For years and years every architect has said they’ll be able to
create the effect of natural daylight and it's never really been true in
my view until now," says Mark Francis, a director at Gagosian London.
"I was quite skeptical about earlier iterations but I must say this is
so close and it can be tuned so carefully that I think it's absolutely
fantastic. Technology has really worked to our advantage and I think
that artists will really appreciate it."
Developed by Arup, who worked in close collaboration with the
gallery's architects, Caruso St John, the system is the first of its
kind in the world.
"It's a huge experiment but one we thought was worth it. We want the
room to do everything it can to provide the best presentation space,"
says fellow Gagosian director Gary Waterston. "We want the next
generation of artists to aspire to show in this space."