Anton Kern Gallery, New York,

Acquired from above by the previous owner in 2013.

“… they are anchored in a number of observations of actual events in the real world: someone carrying a bunch of flowers in front of them as I passed them in the street; someone sitting behind a vase of flowers in a restaurant window…”

- Jim Lambie

One of the leading artists of his generation, and one of the most significant colourists to have emerged from his home city of Glasgow, Lambie’s work reflects his everyday surroundings and makes sharp-eyed references to aspects of contemporary society.

In There Is A Light That Never Goes Out the fusion of opulent, Renaissance-inspired floral motifs with the enigmatic presence of The Smiths' band members, offer a way into the work as well as a springboard to a psychological space beyond.

Inspired by everyday objects, Jim Lambie plays with shapes, colours and unconventional materials to create playful and vibrant works of art. Jim Lambie is a visual artist, musician and DJ from Glasgow, Scotland, whose global recognition was confirmed by his nomination for the Turner Prize in 2005. His practice evolves from a response to the psychology of space and colour, which he utilises in a way that is deeply rooted in colour theory, drawing parallels with the concept of synesthesia and awakening various senses.

Jim Lambie’s playful and imaginative work in collage creates an immediate visual impact. The Found Flowers Painting series, highlights the influence of pop art and the use of everyday objects in Lambie’s work. In the series, images of flowers from oil paintings are layered over found pop memorabilia and press photos. In There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (2013) Lambie covers with an elegant flower composition a photo taken in Manchester in April 1983 portraying Steven Patrick Morrissey, known mononymously as Morrissey, and Johnny Marr, members of the English rock band The Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Drawing from Pop artists of the 1960s, Lambie focuses on mass production, consumption and contemporary society. The artist utilises bright, lyrical colours to create a sensual, rhythmic composition. The sharp combination of lush flowers and music paraphernalia such as posters and album covers in many of his works, highlight the artist’s focus on colour and its psychotropic affect on the viewer. “I want to suggest the way a space changes when you put a record on. I want to set up this intense psychological space,” he explained. The title of the present work is also inspired by the title of an homonymous The Smiths’ song recorded in 1986.

The work Careless Whisper, executed in 2009, belonging to the same series and from the collection of British singer George Michael, achieved a record price of 175,000 GBP at Christie’s London in 2019.

Born in Glasgow in 1964, Jim Lambie studied at the Glasgow School of Art and he continues to live and work in his hometown. He has exhibited worldwide with several solo exhibitions including ones in 2008 at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art, Glasgow; the Hara Museum, Tokyo; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and in 2007 at the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. He has also participated in numerous group shows, including The New Décor, Hayward Gallery, London, 2010; Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, MOMA, New York, 2008; and Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, New Museum, New York, 2007. In 2004, he participated in the 54th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and represented Scotland at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. Voidoid, the first comprehensive monograph on the artist was published in 2004 and Lambie was nominated for The Turner Prize in 2005.