Framing Light explores the relationship between art, perception and dynamic light

Framing Light, an exhibition curated by Maya Binkin, brings together works by Adam Leef and Howard Hodgkin at the ERCO Showroom in London. Presented under a dynamic Tunable White lighting concept developed by ERCO, the exhibition explores light not only as a subject in art, but also as the medium through which art is experienced.

The exhibition pairs watercolours from Leef’s English (Hampshire) Suites with selected hand-painted prints by Hodgkin. While the two artists differ in approach, both have placed light at the centre of their work. Leef’s watercolours emerge from close observation of the British landscape and its subtle atmospheric changes, while Hodgkin’s works transform memory and emotion into expressive colour and gesture. Their juxtaposition creates a dialogue about perception, memory and the emotional power of light.w

The exhibition developed from Leef’s experience of British light following his relocation to the United Kingdom. Working in Hampshire, he encountered a landscape fundamentally different from the Mediterranean environments that had shaped his practice for many years. Delicate tonal shifts, cloud formations and muted colours became central themes of his new body of work. As the artist explains: “British light has a harmony very different from both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.”

A central element of Framing Light is the lighting concept itself. Throughout the exhibition, ERCO’s Tunable White technology continuously adjusts colour temperature over a ten-minute cycle, recreating changing atmospheric conditions associated with an English day. Visitors experience the artworks under shifting lighting conditions, allowing colours, spatial depth and visual relationships to appear differently over time. For curator Maya Binkin, the installation extends the role of light beyond its traditional function. “Collaborating with ERCO has given me the opportunity to bring that normally invisible element of my practice to the foreground and put it into flux.”

Rather than acting as a neutral backdrop, light becomes an active part of the curatorial narrative. The exhibition space itself participates in the viewing experience, inviting visitors to reconsider how perception changes according to the conditions of seeing.

The collaboration also highlights the growing role of dynamic lighting within museum and exhibition design. According to Binkin: “Lighting can help shape atmosphere, emotion and the way a visitor moves through and responds to a space.”

For Adam Leef, the project offers a glimpse into new possibilities for exhibiting art: “This is the future of exhibition space and gallery lighting.” By combining painting, perception and dynamic illumination, Framing Light demonstrates how light can move beyond its traditional role of illumination and become an active medium of artistic and curatorial expression.

A detailed case study on the exhibition and interviews with Adam Leef and Maya Binkin, are available at: www.erco.com.

Exhibition Information
Framing Light – An Ode to British Landscape Tradition
Artists: Adam Leef, Howard Hodgkin
Curator: Maya Binkin
Venue: ERCO Showroom, Dover Street, London
Dates: 8th October – 7th November 2026

Images © ERCO GmbH, www.erco.com.