Brian Clarke: A Great Light

A Great Light is a striking catalogue published to accompany the exhibition of the same name, both testaments to British artist Brian Clarke’s widely regarded status as the most important artist working in stained glass today.Across his five-decades-long career, Clarke has consistently pushed the boundaries of stained glass as a medium in terms of technology and its visual potential. Focusing on large-scale works, A Great Light crystallises Clarke’s vision for stained glass as fundamentally architectural, his works the result of a dedicated respect for the buildings they inhabit and the surrounding contexts of his practice. The book offers a view of the impactful interaction between space and artwork, as over 130 beautifully reproduced images fill its pages and extend into the gatefolds.Published in association with Newport Street Gallery, A Great Light features 68 stained-glass artworks as well as installation shots of the final exhibition, prefaced by an interview between Clarke and world-renowned Swiss curator, art historian and critic Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of Serpentine Galleries in London.

Brian Clarke (b. 1953) was born in Oldham, England. He is an architectural artist and painter, best known for radically updating and innovating the medium of stained glass. Clarke is also widely celebrated for his painting, sculpture, mosaic and tapestry. Hans Ulrich Obrist (b. 1968) is a world-renowned curator and the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London. Alongside his curatorial practice, Obrist has written extensively on and around contemporary art, with a particular interest in the interview format.