A luminous exploration of Chris Levine, one of Britain’s most innovative artists, whose portraits turn light into presence.
Prepare to be immersed in radiance. Inner Light: The Portraiture of Chris Levine, written by Helen Chislett and published by Prestel, is the first monograph devoted to one of the most innovative visual artists working today. Known for merging technology with a contemplative sensibility, Levine has transformed the language of portraiture into something luminous, immersive and deeply human.
The volume gathers Levine’s most celebrated works, from Lightness of Being—the serene and now-iconic image of Queen Elizabeth II—to portraits of Grace Jones, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, the Dalai Lama and Sir Elton John. Together they form a gallery of figures seen not through conventional likeness, but through light itself.
An accompanying volume, Chris Levine: Light, offers a comprehensive biography and examines the artist’s wide-ranging practice, including his large-scale installations, light sculptures, public commissions and commercial projects.
Credit: Courtesy of Chris Levine
Each chapter traces Levine’s creative process in close detail, revealing the precision and patience with which he builds each image. Behind-the-scenes accounts describe the meditative stillness he cultivates for his sitters—an atmosphere of calm that resonates in the resulting works. The portraits, suffused with a sense of inner presence, seem to hover between the material and the spiritual.
Beautifully designed, the monograph features screen-printed titles and neon endpapers, and is available as part of a special edition boxed set with Chris Levine: Light. The collection includes a foreword by Dylan Jones OBE and a separate introduction by Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE. For collectors, art lovers and those fascinated by the intersection of art and technology, Inner Light is both a visual and tactile experience—a meditation in book form.
About the Chris Levine
Chris Levine is a pioneering British visual artist whose installations unite light, frequency and sound to create immersive sensory environments. Drawing on interests in spirituality, philosophy, science, astronomy and holography, his work evokes stillness and presence. He has held 14 solo exhibitions and participated in 25 group shows across the UK, the US, Europe, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Credit: Courtesy of Chris Levine
About the Author
Helen Chislett is a leading writer on art and design whose work has appeared in major national newspapers and magazines for more than three decades. She is the author of over twenty books, including Craft Britain, Modern English Interiors and Star Pieces.
Publication Details
Inner Light: The Portraiture of Chris Levine
By Helen Chislett
Foreword by Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE
Published by Prestel — 7 October 2025
Chris Levine: Light
Special Edition Boxed Set
Two hardcover volumes, 344 pages, 330 illustrations
25 x 30 cm / 10 x 11¾ in.
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7794-0
£100 / US$130 / Can.$170
©2025 Prestel
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