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Brian Clarke

Summer Solstice Spitfires

The ‘Summer Solstice Spitfires’ (G1, 2016) editions continue Brian Clarke’s radical experimentation in stained glass. Clarke’s practice is driven by the aspiration of “transporting post-industrial godless man to the edge of ecstasy”, undermining the religious and architectural connotations that typically limit stained glass.

The spitfire form had appeared in Clarke’s work prior to this series, as a site-specific installation of dozens of stained glass windows at HENI Gallery in London, for example, and also in drawings and paintings. In 2016, Clarke collaborated with HENI again to create the “radical successors” to the window – a series of 70 editions of stained glass autonomous panels. 

Reproducing the recognisable spitfire motif in glass subverts the reality of the iconic wartime aircraft, one that would intercept the sun and cast ominous shadows on the earth below. Now the spitfire lets light pass through it to create rippling pools of colour that float, like the planes once did, over its surroundings. The regular repetition of the form across the frame further undermines its meaning, turning the sinister omen of death into a pattern. This manipulation of the symbol is further enhanced by its reproduction beyond the initial borders of the panel and across the individual editions.

Every work in the series features a different arrangement of coloured spitfire forms, and some were also painted in silver stain to further enrich the variation of colours. On the series, Clarke has commented, “I think that the most interesting of my ‘Spitfires’ works is the edition of stained glass panels. The process of firing has made the painting’s reproduction on each panel, its shade and tone, unique”. In addition to Clarke’s unique interventions across the series, the site specificity inherent to stained glass adds to this effect, offering each of the ‘Summer Solstice Spitfires’ editions a new and different spirit.

Consistent across the series is the arrangement of matte black clouds. Seeming to swell out from each boarder panel, the dark and oppressive clouds obstruct any light from passing through. This stands in dramatic contrast to the jubilance of the spitfires, which welcome the sun’s beams, translating them into a scattering of rainbow hues. Clarke’s holistic manipulation of light across the series of stained glass panels through his expert use of materials upends the meaning typically attached to the spitfire motif. Now when the aircraft comes into contact with the earth, it brings warmth and colour, rather than suffering and shadow.

The clouds were digitally printed in ceramic glazer and fired onto the glass. This blend of modern technology with centuries-old techniques, such as blown glass, adheres to Clarke’s decades-long career dedicated to working with stained glass. Nonetheless, after working with HENI in creating the dozens of individual stained glass panels, Clarke realised that “its secrets are still being teased out: step-by-step the medium reveals itself”.

The ‘Summer Solstice Spitfires’ (G1, 2016) editions continue Brian Clarke’s radical experimentation in stained glass. Clarke’s practice is driven by the aspiration of “transporting post-industrial godless man to the edge of ecstasy”, undermining the religious and architectural connotations that typically limit stained glass.

Brian Clarke

Brian Clarke

Editions