Home
Art
Stained Glass
Kabinettscheiben
Kabinettscheiben
2019 - 2023
Kabinettscheiben is a series of small-scale stained glass panels created by Brian Clarke between 2019 and 2023. The panels are set within metal frames, allowing them to be displayed as free-standing pieces.
The series title adopts the German term 'Kabinettscheiben', which refers to small-scale decorated glass panels produced from the 15th century onwards for display in smaller, private rooms (so-called 'Kabinette') in the residences of princes, scholars or wealthy citizens. These works historically served as collectible decorative objects depicting religious, mythological or narrative scenes, as well as family coats of arms.
Each work from the series translates one of Clarke’s Vespers watercolour paintings from 2019–2020 into glass, whose material qualities enhance the delicacy, transparency and luminous quality of the poppy petals. In his monograph Brian Clarke: Vespers from 2021, Clarke explains:
"[…] it’s like luminous gossamer; a petal that dissolves in your pocket when you’ve picked it, an angel’s wing material. No textile company could approach it; we can’t come within a mile of creating such a powerfully, intensely coloured diaphanous membrane as that. It feels like life itself. And it lasts for no time."