Church Of The Transfiguration
By Gabriele Wilpers
The glass relief completed

CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

By Gabriele Wilpers—Glass Sculptor

Glass relief (13.5 x 5.4 m) for the western wall of the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, Massachusetts/U.S.A.

"When the Community of Jesus asked me to design a representation of Transfiguration for the Church, I began by considering how to create an experience of space that would instill in the observer a feeling of transparency and mystery. I also wished to create a visual and conceptual relationship between the many different liturgical references and places, and to expand the observer’s vision beyond these horizons.

On my first visit to the church in September 2005, I was privileged to witness an entrancing spectacle: the play of light and color inside the church. Sunlight fell through the oculus window in the west wall, traveling precisely along the longitudinal axis of the church and turning to red as it fell onto the mosaic floor in the aisle, heralding the impending equinox when the light would fall squarely on the Lord’s table. This round window, with its motif of the flaming rivers of paradise, became the starting point of the composition. The symbolic river sprung from its midst, bringing the water of life to all parts of the world. The four rivers flowed gently into four shallow channel-like recesses in the glass relief to form the first cross along which creation develops.

Posted 6 February 2016

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Later, looking over the bay of Rock Harbor, I witnessed the shimmering sea, the timeless movement of golden waves in which the light shines as if it were liquid. It was this ebb and flow of the ocean that revealed the sandy sea floor in the form of a gently undulating relief that took on a golden sheen when illuminated by the evening sun. The incomparable experience of this special, much-famed light on the beaches of Cape Cod Bay translated directly into my design for the west wall of the Church of the Transfiguration.

Church Of The Transfiguration Gabriele Wilpers The glass relief completed


Church Of The Transfiguration Gabriele Wilpers Opening ceremony in the Church of the Transfiguration in 2008		The vertical composition of the glass relief, which stretches across the entire west wall from floor to ceiling, integrates the existing artistic and architectural elements of the wall and draws them together—inspired by the nearby ocean—to depict a “sea of glass” (Revelation 4:6). This inspires a variety of associations in observers. Water is perceived to be the origin of movement and the sum of all possibilities, forming the basis of all things shapeable, and vital to all of Creation. The playful waves of the relief are covered with a layer of gilt that increases in density the higher the eye travels. The impression is that of a “landscape of light” whose light-filled layers oscillate and change, reminiscent of the infinite light-filled sky. Similar to ancient Christian and Byzantine mosaics, the precious, shimmering gold becomes the color of revelation. The increasing density of the gilt layer forms a large square around the round window, a reference to one of the most beautiful parts of the Bible: John’s description of the heavenly Jerusalem in his book of Revelation.

The glass sculpture was created in a lengthy manual process that took almost two years. The draft sketch was scaled up to a size of 13.52 x 5.42 meters and divided into a matrix of 64 fields. Using fireproof material, a large-size negative of the relief was created that also consisted of 64 panels. Each of these panels was used to form a glass plate in a kiln heated to around 700 degrees centigrade, and each plate was then affixed to a carrier panel. The entire surface of the panels was gilded. Finally, the gilt was partially removed to create a “glass painting” that responded to the shapes and forms of the relief.

The church is located in Orleans, Massachusetts:
The Community of Jesus
Church of the Transfiguration
5 Bay View Drive
Orleans, MA 02653

Church Of The Transfiguration Gabriele Wilpers Details of the glass relief


Technique used to produce the glass relief panels for the Church of the Transfiguration: 1 The draft design is projected onto a 64-field matrix and magnified to its later size (13.52 by 5.42 metres) onto paper. 2 The design is pounced onto heat-resistant ceramic fibre boards (“ceraboards”). A pouncing wheel transfers contours of the drawing onto the boards. 3 The ceraboard fibres between the contours are extracted using chisels and gouges. Now, the boards are treated with sandpaper of varying grain to gradually produce a relief pattern with a soft, flowing texture. The gently undulating lines of varying length and elevation are suggestive of waves created by the wind.		Church Of The Transfiguration By Gabriele Wilpers The ceraboard fibres between the contours are extracted using chisels and gouges. Now, the boards are treated with sandpaper of varying grain to gradually produce a relief pattern with a soft, flowing texture. The gently undulating lines of varying length and elevation are suggestive of waves created by the wind.


Church Of The Transfiguration By Gabriele Wilpers Each of the reshaped glass panels is now affixed to a carrier panel of the same size using two-component silicone adhesive. The carrier panels (12 mm) consist of laminated glass with one stainless steel mounting bolt in each of the four corners, which will later be used to mount the panels to the wall.		4 The negative shape of the 64 relief panels now forms a concave mould. Using a technique known as slumping, flat glass panels (6 mm thick) are carefully laid onto the panels and then placed in a furnace, where they are heated under precisely calculated conditions until they “slump” onto the base. The higher the temperature, the lower the material’s viscosity. The glass starts to reshape. At around 700 degrees Celsius it sinks onto the mould below and acquires the shape of the underlying relief. 5 Each of the reshaped glass panels is now affixed to a carrier panel of the same size using two-component silicone adhesive. The carrier panels (12 mm) consist of laminated glass with one stainless steel mounting bolt in each of the four corners, which will later be used to mount the panels to the wall.


6 After the glass panels have been thoroughly cleaned, they are oil-gilded. First they are treated with foundation, which must be left to dry for 12 hours before the gold leaf (80 by 80 mm, 23.7 carat) can be applied. The leaf is cut into narrower strips for the more strongly undulating sections. The gold leaf is first applied to the higher elevations, to which it immediately bonds. Cracks appear in the leaf spanning the lower-lying areas and are later re-gilded. Hairline cracks are brushed over with gold dust. 7 Finally, the gilding is removed in some sections using a blade to reveal the glass below. Complex hatched patterns, subtle and pronounced lines - some grouped, some isolated - and openly spaced areas create a glass "painting" that responds to the playful shapes of the relief. The lines swirl around the glass waves, emulate their movement or flow over them. Plastically shaped glass and artistically applied gold are joined in close harmony and connect to form an expansive lightscape." On this project I collaborated with Derix Glasstudios, http://www.derix.com/de/ Text from the book on this project, released in 2012 Gabriele Wilpers Emmastrasse 1a 45130 Essen Germany www.wilpers.com		Church Of The Transfiguration Gabriele Wilpers During the installation in the church

Click here to download the file "WILPERS_resume_exhibitions.pdf".