Sculpture for The Shard

Brian Clarke, in collaboration with architect Renzo Piano, created a design for an unexecuted public artwork for the plaza at the base of The Shard, in London.

This project was developed through sketches, paintings and models into a proposal for a monumental stained glass and linear bronze sculpture. The design process, including the drawings, paintings and maquettes made for the project, was filmed in the 2011 Mark Kidel-directed BBC Four documentary Brian Clarke: Colouring Light - An Artist Apart. In the film, Clarke says:

‘So I thought of the idea, and at first it seemed quite a silly idea, perhaps rather banal, but I’ve grown rather fond of the concept: shards of glass from the top of the structure, as if they’ve fallen down and just penetrated the ground level. And as pedestrians make their way through the work, by day you’ll get sunlight passing through and by night, lit from within, it will glow and be visible from all the viewing corridors as you approach London Bridge station. It will be like a cathedral of colour.’