Luke’s research and teaching focus on the history and theory of late 20^th and early 21^st century art in the UK, Europe, the USA and Brazil, specialising in Conceptual and Postconceptual art. His other research interests include: the history and theory of photography and the technical image (with a focus on photoconceptualism and its legacies), art theory and philosophical aesthetics, critical theory.

He is author (with John Jacob) of Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen (Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2018), co-editor of Aesthetics and Contemporary Art (Sternberg Press, 2011) and is completing a book entitled Contesting Technocracy: Conceptual Art, Aesthetics and Politics after 1968 focusing on the work of Ian Burn, Hans Haacke, Mierle Laderman Ukeles and Hélio Oiticica. His articles have appeared in journals including Amodern, Art History, Art Margins, Grey Room, Manifesta Journal, Tate Papers and Third Text. Luke wrote catalogue essays for the Tate’s Conceptual Art in Britain: 1964-79 (2016) and the Generali Foundation’s Amazing! Clever! Linguistic! An Adventure in Conceptual Art (2013) and co-curated the exhibitions “Plastic Words” (2014-15) at Raven Row and “Counter-Production” (2012) at the Generali Foundation. His art criticism has appeared in Artforum, Art Monthly,  and Burlington Contemporary. He sits on the editorial board of the MIT journal ARTMargins. 

His new book project, Uncertain Ecologies: Contemporary Art After Instititutional Critique, explores two, related areas: the exhaustion of Institutional Critique; the computational and ecological turn (beyond nature) by contemporary artists. Two recent publications set out the contours of this project: 'Realizing Our Ecologization? On Ecosystems Aesthetics and Contemporary Art beyond Institutional Critique’, Grey Room, no. 99 (Spring 2025)'; (with Eric C.H. de Bruyn) 'On Environmentality', Grey Room, no. 97 (Spring 2024). 

Prior to joining the faculty at Manchester Luke held a fixed-term University Lectureship at the University of Cambridge where he was also a Fellow of Churchill College.

Luke studied art history, aesthetics and art theory at Middlesex University for his MA and PhD (History of Art and Design/Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy) and before that read English Literature at King’s College, Cambridge. 

I welcome applications for doctoral and postdoctoral work on late modern and contemporary art relating to my broad areas of specialisation. Please contact me directly in the first instance with a developed research proposal as far in advance of the relevant application deadline as you are able to.
 
See guidance here on preparing a suitable PhD proposal.
See information here on the PhD application timeline.

I have supervised PhDs to completion on Rasheed Araeen, Contemporary Video art, Radical British art of the 1970s and Martin Kippenberger. Current doctoral candidates are working on the Italian Neo-Avant-Garde, Institutional Critique and the legacies of Surrealism. I am also mentoring a postdoc on re-enactment and fabulation in recent group performances in the American South.

Kylie Gilchrist, ‘Structures of Transformation: The Politics of Artistic Form in the Work of Rasheed Araeen, 1950–80s’, 2024

Janelle Hixon, 'Homeward Longings: Contemporary Moving Image Figurations of Place', 2022

For further details of my (unembargoed) supervised work at Manchester please see - https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/luke.skrebowski/supervised-student-theses/