Brian Clarke: The Art of Light

The Art of Light is the catalogue for the eponymous exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, and at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. At its centre were a series of new stained glass screens by Brian Clarke, which use new technologies to reinvent stained glass.

The Art of Light is the catalogue for the eponymous exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, and at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. At its centre were a series of new stained glass screens by Brian Clarke, which use new technologies to reinvent stained glass.

With 250 illustrations that capture the depth and range of Clarke’s oeuvre, this book also features an introduction by architect Norman Foster, and an essay by the then-director of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Paul Greenhalgh. 

The Art of Light is a testament to Clarke’s belief that ‘stained glass has an authority and potential to deal with every human condition’. This book captures what the artist describes as ‘the organic urgency of invention’, still maintaining the stunning beauty present in ‘the craft of the Middle Ages’ while using new technologies to reinvent the craft to make it more accessible, as demonstrated by the portable screens featured in his exhibitions.