www.mesvitrauxfavoris.eu/Supp_J/cathadrale-notre-dame-bai...

© All Rights Reserved

Nagakura Kenichi treats bamboo as a purely sculptural medium. He creates unconventional, organic forms, sometimes accented with pieces of found wood and coated with finishes of his own creation. Nagakura spent years learning traditional bamboo techniques from his grandfather before innovating his own style. Bamboo, says the artist, is an ideal material to express nature: “Bamboo can be either delicate like a spider web or solid as stone, thus embodying the natural cycles of the world.”*

© All Rights Reserved

Nagakura Kenichi treats bamboo as a purely sculptural medium. He creates unconventional, organic forms, sometimes accented with pieces of found wood and coated with finishes of his own creation. Nagakura spent years learning traditional bamboo techniques from his grandfather before innovating his own style. Bamboo, says the artist, is an ideal material to express nature: “Bamboo can be either delicate like a spider web or solid as stone, thus embodying the natural cycles of the world.”*

© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

The Catholic church of Our Lady in Lillington (now a suburb of Leamington Spa) was opened in 1963 and is quite simply one of the most stunning modern churches I've ever seen.

The building, designed by Henry Fedeski, follows the traditional cruciform plan but with a centrally placed altar at the crossing. However the most outstanding element here is the sheer abundance of (mostly) abstract stained glass, bathing the interior in a magical kaleidoscopic light.

The glass is the work of Dom Charles Norris, who led a team of monks at Buckfast Abbey in employing the dalle de verre (slab of glass) technique, wherein thick chunks of coloured glass are set in a concrete matrix. Norris's best known work is at Buckfast Abbey and at Harlow (a church remarkably similar in many ways to this one).

The entire clerestory of all four arms of the building consists of this rich abstract glazing. A round window enlivens the entrance facade (liturgically west but the church is actually orientated north to south) whilst the transepts are dominated by huge images of Mary and the Archangel Gabriel respectively (the only figurative elements in the glazing). There are yet further examples of this rich glass in three of the side chapels and annexes at ground level, all in all making a visit to this church an unforgettable experience.

This is a magnificent building which clearly deserves to be better known, there can be few such significant examples of dalle de verre glass in the country.

Alas the church is normally locked outside of services so it is best to make special arrangements or attend mass to see inside.

For more detail see this church's entry on the Warwickshire Churches website:-
warwickshirechurches.weebly.com/lillington---our-lady.html

Tags:   Lillington church Catholic modern contemporary architecture interior Leamington Spa Warwickshire

© All Rights Reserved