The monumental works use artificial intelligence, advanced 3D computer modelling and layered painting techniques to reconstruct Kelvin’s all-pervading ‘ether’, a theory for the structure for the universe.
Throughout history, there has been a recurring intuition that “empty space” isn’t empty at all but filled with something continuous. In ancient Greece, the primordial god “Aether” was a divine substance filling the heavens. In Victorian times, the idea of an ether was used to explain how light could travel through a vacuum, and in 1887, Glasgow’s Lord Kelvin proposed the Kelvin Cell as the most efficient possible solution.
Working with researchers from the university’s Quantum Theory Group, artist Gregor Harvie has digitally recreated thousands of interconnected Kelvin Cells to form a complex lattice that is the basis of his two paintings. The Light Universe is a luminous field of flowing colour and energy representing the visible, measurable cosmos. The Dark Universe is more unsettling, a fragmented monochrome patchwork inspired by dark matter and dark energy, which together are believed to make up 95 per cent of the universe, but are largely unexplained.
Professor Stephen Barnett, Head of the Quantum Theory Group at the University of Glasgow, said: “It’s fantastic to see Kelvin’s idea brought to life in these extraordinarily beautiful paintings. Kelvin imagined an astonishingly sophisticated geometry for the structure of space nearly 140 years ago using only pencil and paper. The ether is a concept that scientist have come back to again and again, and is one we still see aspects of in ideas like quantum field theory.”
Professor David Ireland, Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy, said: “These paintings are a fitting tribute to one of Kelvin’s most profound ideas and to the refurbished Kelvin Building, home of the School of Physics and Astronomy. Kelvin himself tried to build a model of his ether using wire and soap bubbles, but it is only now, with the help of computer modelling that we can see it in its full glory.”
Artist Gregor Harvie said: “Kelvin’s ether is both mind-bendingly complex and breathtakingly simple. As an artist, the idea that there might be an invisible structure underpinning everything is deeply compelling – something we cannot see and cannot do without. These paintings explore the tension between what we can measure and describe and what still lies beyond our understanding.”
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Professor Declan Diver, academic lead for the refurbishment of the Kelvin Building, said: “The Kelvin Building brings together two landmark listed structures by celebrated architects James Miller and Basil Spence. Our major refurbishment programme is now nearing completion, creating a modern, accessible environment with new entrances, a pedestrian bridge, lifts and upgraded facilities. We are delighted that Gregor’s remarkable paintings will form a focal point within the original entrance foyer, transforming the space with ambitious, thought-provoking works that connect art, science and the history of the building itself.”
The paintings will be on permanent display in the first-floor foyer of the Kelvin Building at the University of Glasgow from June 4, 2026.
