How Zack Zublena’s Fine Art Photography Came to Decorate More Than 120 David Lloyd Clubs Across the UK and Europe
How Zack Zublena’s Fine Art Photography Came to Decorate More Than 120 David Lloyd Clubs Across the UK and Europe
Zack Zublena’s fine art photography was installed as part of the interior decoration in more than 120 David Lloyd Clubs across the United Kingdom and continental Europe. The project brought the French artist’s distinctive gold-toned figurative photography into premium health, fitness and wellness interiors on an unusually large scale.
David Lloyd Clubs has developed an extensive network of premium health and wellness clubs across the UK and Europe. Within this environment, Zublena’s photography offered a visual language centred on the human form, gold, light and contemplation — themes that naturally interact with interiors designed around movement, rest and wellbeing.
The installations included clubs in locations such as Hatfield, Kensington, Chelsea, Chigwell and Weybridge Brooklands, among many others. For Zublena, the project represented an important chapter in the evolution of his work from fine art photography created in Los Angeles to images experienced within wellness interiors across Britain and continental Europe.
This article explores the relationship between fine art, spirituality, contemplation and interior atmosphere — and why carefully chosen artwork can become more than decoration in a home, meditation space, spa or wellness environment.
Table of Contents
- From Fine Art Photography to 120+ David Lloyd Club Installations
- What Is Spiritual Artwork? Beyond Religious Iconography
- Art, Atmosphere and Wellbeing
- Visionary Fine Art vs. Mass-Produced Decor
- Creating a Contemplative Space: How to Choose Your Artwork
- The Zack Zublena Collections
- Frequently Asked Questions
From Fine Art Photography to 120+ David Lloyd Club Installations
The David Lloyd installations developed from Zack Zublena’s photographic practice, in which the human body, directional light and reflective gold-coloured body paint became central visual elements.
Rather than treating the photographs simply as decorative images, their placement within David Lloyd interiors introduced them into environments already associated with physical wellbeing, relaxation and personal time. David Lloyd itself describes its clubs as spaces extending beyond the gym to include spa, relaxation and social environments, particularly through its UK spa and wellbeing facilities.
The scale of the installation — more than 120 clubs across the UK and continental Europe — also placed Zublena’s photography before an audience very different from that of a conventional gallery exhibition. Members encountered the work as part of the architecture and atmosphere of spaces they returned to regularly.
For an artist whose imagery frequently explores contemplation, identity, the human form and the symbolism of gold, that relationship between artwork and environment became particularly significant.
What Is Spiritual Artwork? Beyond Religious Iconography
Spiritual artwork does not necessarily mean religious artwork.
At its broadest, spiritual art can explore questions of identity, consciousness, mortality, transformation, silence, transcendence and humanity’s relationship with something larger than the individual self.
This dialogue between spirituality and modern art has a long history. In Britain, Tate has explored the relationship between modern art and spirituality, examining artists whose work engages with mystical experience, identity and profound social change.
Within Zack Zublena’s work, spirituality is approached through a personal visual language rather than through adherence to a single religious doctrine.
Gold, shadow, the exposed human form and moments of apparent stillness become recurring symbols through which the viewer is invited to consider ideas such as vulnerability, transformation, inner identity and transcendence.
The Intersection of Fine Art and Spirituality
Art has always provided a means of representing experiences that are difficult to communicate through language alone.
A photograph, painting or sculpture may evoke stillness, awe, discomfort, intimacy or contemplation without prescribing exactly what the viewer should feel.
For Zublena, intention is an important part of this process. His work frequently begins with a philosophical or spiritual idea and then translates it into composition, light, pose and material.
The result is not intended to prove a metaphysical proposition. Rather, the artwork becomes a visual space in which the viewer may bring his or her own interpretation.
This distinction is important: the spiritual dimension of the work belongs to the artist’s philosophy and to the subjective experience of the viewer.
Visualising the Unseen
How can an artist visually represent something intangible — silence, transcendence, surrender, inner conflict or transformation?
One answer is abstraction. Another is symbolism.
Gold can suggest divinity, value, permanence, illumination or sacred tradition. Darkness can suggest mystery, introspection or the unknown. The human figure can become simultaneously personal and universal.
Light and shadow therefore operate on two levels within Zublena’s photography: they structure the image aesthetically, but they can also function metaphorically.
The viewer is free to encounter that symbolism intellectually, emotionally or simply visually.
Art, Atmosphere and Wellbeing
The relationship between artwork and wellbeing does not require the claim that an artwork possesses a measurable physical “frequency”.
A more grounded way to understand it is through atmosphere, perception and attention.
The images, colours, scale and objects surrounding us contribute to the way an interior feels. Artwork may encourage visual stimulation, calm, curiosity or contemplation depending on its composition and its relationship with the surrounding space.
This is particularly relevant within wellness interiors.
UK cultural platform Art UK has documented the use of artworks within NHS collections and healthcare environments, demonstrating the broader role that visual art can play within spaces associated with care and wellbeing.
For Zublena, the idea of “energy” in an artwork belongs primarily to this experiential and spiritual vocabulary: the emotional or contemplative quality that a viewer perceives when encountering an image.
Art as a Visual Anchor
A strong artwork can give the eye somewhere to rest.
In a meditation room, bedroom, spa or quiet interior, this can be particularly effective. Rather than filling every surface with visual information, a single image may establish a central point of attention.
In Zublena’s work, this often comes from the relationship between a solitary human figure and surrounding negative space.
Gold can draw the eye towards the body, while darkness or muted backgrounds isolate the figure from visual distraction.
The result can create a sense of stillness without requiring the viewer to subscribe to any particular spiritual belief.
Colour, Light and Perception
Colour and light have enormous expressive power in visual art.
Radiant gold can communicate warmth, luminosity and preciousness. Deep shadows can introduce mystery and depth. Neutral environments can allow the human figure to become the principal visual focus.
Photography has long occupied an important place within British art and museum culture. The Victoria and Albert Museum’s photography collection traces the medium from the nineteenth century to contemporary practice, while the Royal Photographic Society remains one of Britain’s principal organisations dedicated to photography.
Within Zublena’s practice, photography is therefore not simply documentation of a painted body. Light, pose, composition and the relationship between subject and space transform the photographed figure into the finished artwork.
Duality in Art: Light, Shadow and Divine Polarity
A recurring theme in Zack Zublena’s work is duality.
Light and darkness.
Masculine and feminine.
Presence and absence.
Materiality and spirit.
The idea of Divine Polarity within his artistic philosophy examines these apparent opposites not necessarily as forces in conflict, but as complementary elements capable of existing within the same image.
Darkness can make gold appear more luminous. Stillness can make gesture more powerful. Vulnerability can coexist with strength.
This exploration of opposites also appears in the concept Zublena calls the Zero Point Field: an artistic and metaphysical metaphor for a point of equilibrium between opposing forces.
Visionary Fine Art vs. Mass-Produced Decor
There is an important distinction between selecting an artwork because it fills an empty wall and selecting one because its imagery has meaning for you.
Mass-produced decoration can be attractive and appropriate for many interiors. Fine art offers something different: authorship, provenance and a relationship with a specific artist and body of work.
For a collector, that connection may be as important as the physical object itself.
The Artist’s Journey: Why Provenance Matters
Provenance connects an artwork to the person and circumstances from which it emerged.
Zack Zublena’s gold photography developed from a particular period in his artistic practice in Los Angeles, where he began photographing the human body painted with reflective gold-coloured body paint and exploring the visual relationship between gold, skin and light.
The later placement of his photography in more than 120 David Lloyd Clubs across the UK and continental Europe became another part of that history.
For collectors, designers and wellness spaces, knowing the origin of an image can add a layer of meaning that is absent from anonymous mass-produced decoration.
Fine Art Photography as an Art Form
Photography has long moved beyond its purely documentary origins.
British institutions such as the V&A and the Royal Photographic Society have played important roles in the history and recognition of photography as an artistic medium.
Zublena’s work sits within this fine art tradition while developing an immediately recognisable visual vocabulary of reflective gold, sculptural poses and dramatic illumination.
The camera does not merely reproduce the scene.
It creates the final composition.
Limited-Edition and Fine Art Prints
Fine art prints offer collectors a way to acquire photographic artwork without purchasing a unique painting or mixed-media original.
Depending on the individual work and edition, prints may be offered in selected dimensions and presentation formats. Collectors should consult the specifications provided on each individual artwork page for exact information regarding size, material, mounting and edition details.
The UK itself has a strong institutional tradition of collecting and presenting prints, reflected in the extensive V&A print collection, which encompasses both historical and contemporary forms of printmaking and printed art.
For contemporary interiors, photographic prints can work particularly well because they can be scaled in relation to the architecture of the room.
A large work can become the visual focus of an interior, while a smaller image can create a more intimate contemplative point.
Creating a Contemplative Space: How to Choose Your Artwork
Selecting artwork for a contemplative interior is different from simply matching an image to the furniture.
The first question is not necessarily:
“What colour do I need?”
A more useful question may be:
“What do I want to experience when I enter this space?”
1. Identify the Purpose of the Room
Consider the emotional character you want the room to have.
A bedroom may call for stillness.
A meditation area may benefit from simplicity and visual focus.
A living room may support a stronger statement piece.
A spa or wellness interior may require artwork capable of maintaining visual presence without overwhelming the space.
2. Notice Your Immediate Response
Spend time looking through a collection without immediately analysing every image.
Some works will attract your attention instinctively.
That response does not need to be mystical. It may come from the pose, colour, composition, subject or simply an emotional association that is personal to you.
Fine art collecting often begins with precisely that kind of visual connection.
3. Consider Scale and Placement
Scale dramatically changes the experience of an artwork.
A large photographic print can become architectural, particularly when viewed from across a room.
A smaller work creates a more intimate relationship and may be appropriate for a bedroom, reading area, study or meditation corner.
Also consider sight lines.
An artwork positioned opposite an entrance will be encountered differently from one placed beside a bed or above a console.
4. Create Relationships Between Works
A collection does not need to consist of identical images.
Contrast can make an installation stronger.
A luminous gold image may work beside a darker, more introspective composition. Masculine and feminine figures can create visual dialogue. Works from different collections can share a common language through light, form or symbolism.
This allows a collector to build an environment rather than merely accumulate individual pictures.
Art for Meditation and Personal Reflection
Artwork can also function as a point of visual concentration during contemplative practice.
The UK NHS mindfulness guidance describes mindfulness practices as intentionally bringing attention back to present experience when the mind wanders.
A contemplative artwork can play a similar visual role: a stable point to which attention can return.
This does not mean that a photograph itself produces meditation or guarantees a psychological effect. Rather, it can become part of an environment intentionally designed for stillness and reflection.
For some collectors, sacred imagery may serve this purpose. Others may respond more strongly to abstract composition, the human form or a minimal image surrounded by negative space.
Balancing a Home Through Art
A home contains many different environments, each with its own purpose.
Rather than applying the same visual treatment everywhere, artwork can help differentiate them.
A luminous piece from the Golden Souls collection can create a strong focal point within a living room or entrance.
Darker, more introspective photography may work particularly well within a library, bedroom or private study.
Works exploring Divine Polarity may suit spaces where contrasting images can be placed in dialogue with one another.
The objective is not to impose a particular emotional state, but to create an interior in which art contributes intentionally to atmosphere.
The Zack Zublena Collections
Zack Zublena’s body of work explores several recurring ideas: gold, human identity, sacred imagery, duality, transformation and the relationship between the visible body and the interior self.
These themes develop differently across his collections.
Golden Souls
Golden Souls places the gold-painted human form at the centre of the image.
Reflective gold-coloured body paint reacts dramatically with photographic light, transforming skin into a sculptural surface.
The human figure remains recognisable, yet the metallic appearance moves it away from conventional portraiture and towards symbolism.
For Zublena, gold represents ideas including inner value, divinity and transformation.
Dark Elegance
The darker side of Zublena’s photographic language explores introspection, mystery and vulnerability.
Reduced lighting and deeper backgrounds change the emotional character of the gold figure.
Rather than radiance alone, the image becomes a study in tension between visibility and concealment.
This contrast is central to the broader idea of Divine Polarity within his practice.
The Holy Collection
The Holy Collection draws more directly upon sacred poses, archetypes and visual references.
The objective is not simply to reproduce traditional religious imagery, but to reinterpret ideas of devotion, surrender, transcendence and sacred identity through contemporary fine art photography.
This relationship between spirituality and modern visual language has significant precedent in twentieth- and twenty-first-century art, something also explored in Tate’s exhibitions and displays devoted to modern spirituality.
Zero Point Field and Divine Polarity
Two concepts recur particularly strongly within Zack Zublena’s artistic philosophy: the Zero Point Field and Divine Polarity.
Within his work, the Zero Point Field is used metaphorically to describe stillness and potential — the point at which apparently opposing forces reach equilibrium.
Divine Polarity explores those opposites themselves:
- masculine and feminine;
- light and darkness;
- strength and vulnerability;
- physical and spiritual;
- presence and absence.
The concepts provide a philosophical framework for interpreting the photographs rather than scientific claims about the physical properties of the artworks.
That distinction allows the viewer to engage with the imagery freely, whether spiritually, psychologically or purely aesthetically.
Beginning Your Collection: Photography and Original Works
Building an art collection does not require beginning with the largest work.
The most important consideration is whether an artwork continues to hold your attention.
Fine art photography can provide an accessible entry into an artist’s larger body of work, while original mixed-media pieces offer collectors a different experience through texture, material and physical uniqueness.
Zublena works across both photography and mixed media, allowing collectors to explore different expressions of the same recurring themes.
When selecting a piece, consider:
- the emotional response the image creates;
- the dimensions of the intended wall;
- viewing distance;
- existing light within the room;
- surrounding colours and materials;
- whether the work will stand alone or become part of a larger grouping.
Browse the UK Online Gallery and Explore Zack Zublena’s Fine Art Collections
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between spiritual art and religious art?
Religious art usually engages directly with the iconography, narratives or traditions of a particular faith.
Spiritual art can operate more broadly, exploring questions such as transcendence, identity, consciousness, mortality, transformation or humanity’s relationship with the sacred.
The two can overlap, but they are not identical.
How can artwork complement a meditation practice?
Artwork can provide a stable visual point of attention within a meditation or contemplative space.
A simple composition may reduce visual distraction, while an image that carries personal meaning can help establish a sense of intentionality around the practice.
The artwork should be understood as part of the environment rather than as a medical or therapeutic treatment.
What is a fine art photographic print?
A fine art photographic print is a photograph produced specifically as an artwork rather than simply as a commercial reproduction.
Production method, paper or substrate, dimensions, mounting and edition details can vary between artists and individual works, so collectors should consult the specifications provided for each piece.
Photography has a long institutional history as an artistic medium in Britain, represented by organisations including the Royal Photographic Society and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
How do I choose the right size of artwork for my home?
Consider both the dimensions of the wall and the distance from which the artwork will normally be viewed.
Large-scale work can function as an architectural focal point in a living room, entrance or open-plan interior.
Smaller pieces may be more effective in bedrooms, offices, reading areas or intimate meditation spaces.
Can artwork really change the energy of a room?
In Zack Zublena’s artistic vocabulary, the “energy” of an artwork refers primarily to the subjective atmosphere and emotional response associated with it.
Art can alter the visual character of an interior through scale, colour, imagery, composition and personal association.
Whether someone describes that experience as atmosphere, emotion, resonance or energy is ultimately personal.
Why is Zack Zublena’s work associated with wellness interiors?
One important chapter in Zublena’s career was the installation of his photography as part of the interior decoration in more than 120 David Lloyd Clubs across the UK and continental Europe.
The relationship is particularly relevant because his images frequently use stillness, the human form and contemplative compositions — visual themes compatible with interiors designed around wellbeing, exercise and relaxation.
Visitors can learn more about the wider David Lloyd network through the official David Lloyd Clubs UK website.
Is Zack Zublena artwork available as a gift?
Fine art can make a highly personal gift, particularly when the recipient already has a relationship with the artist’s imagery.
Available works, formats and gift options can be explored through the online gallery.
What is the Zero Point Field in Zack Zublena’s art?
Within Zublena’s artistic philosophy, the Zero Point Field is a metaphysical and visual concept representing stillness, equilibrium and potential.
It provides a framework for compositions exploring the point at which contrasting forces appear to resolve into balance.
Does Zack Zublena offer original artworks or only photography?
Zack Zublena works across fine art photography and mixed media.
The gallery includes photographic works as well as selected original pieces, allowing collectors to engage with his visual language through different materials and formats.
Written by Zack Zublena
