David Light graduated from the Swansea School of Glass with a First Class Honours Degree in Architectural Glass. Angels are often seen depicted in ecclesiastical glass, however the artist wished to realise an Angel for modern times.
The Fallen Angel panel on display at the Embroidery Gallery is the culmination of his artistic and technical development to date. He found inspiration for the character of the Angel in an entry in ‘A Dictionary of Angels Including Fallen Angels’: “Salamiel – a great angel, a prince of the grigori (q.v.). Though the grigori dwell in Heaven, a certain number of them are malign. A legend has it that Salamiel rejected the Lord and is now a fallen angel [Rf. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews I,133.]”.
The Angel’s pose is inquisitive and threatening, this edgy atmosphere is enhanced by his glistening wings, which on closer inspection are shards of jagged glass. The background to the angel is angular in pattern; an abstraction of a cityscape.
The glass within the panel has been treated using ancient paint techniques and innovative contemporary methods to modulate the flow of light through the mix of antique and machine-made glass. The combination of an artistic vision and honed technical skills have created a spectacular vision of a jeans wearing urban Angel.
Also on display is the cartoon and studies of the Angel’s face.
Since returning from Swansea David has taken a studio at Wimbledon Art Studios. He would welcome enquiries to design and fabricate unique panels of glass art for windows, screens, wall pieces etc.. His website can be viewed at www.lightglasssstudio.co.uk, his e-mail address is david@lightglassstudio.co.uk