For his debut solo exhibition with Varvara Roza Galleries, entitled Asphaltos Phos, internationally acclaimed artist Nathaniel Rackowe presents a compelling body of work that brings bitumen (asphaltos, one of the earliest known binding agents) and artificial light (phos, the Greek word for pure, brilliant illumination) into direct dialogue, questioning the evolving dynamics of constructed environments and our relation to them. ‘There's that sense that, as a viewer, you may recognise the materials employed, and they will not be materials you would associate with being worthy of notice, but somehow the work reveals something new from them. That's the drive for me.’ At the centre of the exhibition is Black Shed Stacked, part of the Shed series, works that emerge from Rackowe’s experiences of cities in flux such as Beirut, where histories of construction, destruction, and renewal converge.
In the gallery’s rear and downstairs spaces, fluorescent light pieces cast a spill of industrial yellow, immersing and implicating audiences in the familiar colours of the urban landscape. Across older works and new commissions, Asphaltos Phos brings together surfaces, structures, and luminescence, inviting the viewer to reconsider the infrastructures that shape daily experience. The sculptures function as spatial poems, offering a meditative commentary on modernity’s material legacy, the shaping of space, and the social phenomena tethered to energy, movement, and transformation. Rackowe cites science-fiction as a longstanding inspiration for the sense of ‘otherness’ he creates in otherwise orderly space: audiences may recognise materials but they have been layered with intersecting geometric and organic forms – ‘something uncanny that seems like it belongs but also doesn't belong’. Rackowe’s use of mass-manufactured products recreates the collective experiences of urban contemporary life while incorporating an intimate emotional response to moving through built space. His personal journey - including a cancer diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic, alongside his artistic engagement with international public spaces - informs his ability to connect with audiences across contexts, from global cities to the intimate fabric of individual lives. ‘It's all about trying to find those brief, passing, and almost transcendental moments of beauty, where you come across something you don't expect.’ Based on extensive research and spatial observation, Rackowe’s practice continues to evolve at the intersection of art and architecture, responding to the built environment while uncovering hidden narratives within its fabric. His explorations are often paralleled to Gordon Matta-Clark’s ‘Anarchitectures’, Dan Flavin’s radical use of light, and Bruce Nauman’s pioneering environmental installations that use light and space to trigger interaction and manipulate perception. Yet Rackowe’s oeuvre, deeply influenced by constructivism, neoplasticism, and the reductionist clarity of Bauhaus and De Stijl, pushes the boundaries of these avant-garde legacies and post-minimalism, offering multilayered interpretations and new aesthetic paradigms. The solo exhibition at Varvara Roza Galleries coincides with the unveiling of Rackowe’s site specific outdoor light installation at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Southbank Centre’s Winter Light, continuing an ongoing series of geometric light sculptures he has developed since 2006. Across all scales, viewers are invited to not only to experience, but also to journey through and around the work, becoming active participants.
Nathaniel Rackowe (b. 1975, Cambridge) is a London-based artist whose large-scale light sculptures and urban-inspired structures explore the sensory experience of navigating the modern city. Using industrial materials such as glass, concrete, plastics, and scaffolding, his works capture the shifting play of light across buildings and streets, balancing stark geometry with atmospheric beauty. Influenced by Modernism, film, and video games, Rackowe reimagines the language of light beyond Minimalism to reflect the rhythms and contrasts of contemporary urban life. Rackowe holds a BA in sculpture from Sheffield Hallam University (1998), and an MFA in Sculpture from The Slade School Of Fine Art, UCL (2001). His practice spans sculpture, installation, public art, and performance, often in collaboration with choreographer Angela Woodhouse. Recent projects include a major light installation on the Thames at London’s Royal Festival Hall (2024), a seven-city commission for Yves Saint Laurent (2022), and performances at the Oslo Opera House and the Royal Society of Sculptors (2019). He has exhibited internationally in London, Dubai, Paris, Beirut, Belgrade, and Aarhus, with permanent and temporary public artworks installed across Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Rackowe’s works are held in significant public and private collections, including Tate, the Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Bilbao, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty Center, and Fondation Maeght, as well as in influential private collections and institutions worldwide.
