Four pre-qualified artists have been selected in the competition to design the glass cladding for Christ Church Cathedral’s new bell spire, part of the Raise the Roof, Ring the Bells, Feed the Hungry project. The finalists are Sarah Hall (Toronto), Lutz Haufschild (Vancouver) David Pearl (Toronto) and Susan Point (Vancouver). Glass panels will clad the upper 60 feet of the proposed 100 foot tall bell spire. The four artists have been commissioned to submit preliminary artistic design concepts. One will be selected for the bell spire to be constructed in 2015.
You can click on the names above of the four finalists for eye-popping tours of their art. Or you can visit examples of glass art by three of the four finalists in Lower Mainland churches and mosques. Sarah Hall designed the Light of the World and Mysteries of Light windows in Holy Name Catholic Church, Vancouver and the Lux Nova wind tower at Regent College, Vancouver. Lutz Haufschild designed the Four Elements windows at Westminster Abbey, Mission, the Four Seasons windows in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Vancouver, and the Golden Keys windows in the Burnaby Jamathkana. Coast Salish artist Susan Point designed the Tree of Life stained glass window installed in Christ Church Cathedral in 2010. David Pearl has not worked with Lower Mainland places of worship, but his religious art glass can be seen at St. Gabriel’s Passionist Church, Toronto.Sarah Hall is an internationally recognized glass artist who has specializes in large- scale installations for places of worship. She has received American Institute of Architects awards for the Lux Gloria windows at Cathedral of the Holy Family, Saskatoon and for the Lux Nova wind tower at Regent College, Vancouver. Sarah works at the leading edge of art and technology as evidenced by Lux Nova, a solar art glass installation that incorporates photo-voltaic elements which generate electricity.
Lutz Haufschild is a Vancouver based artist with a wide range of internationally recognized work in glass. Of particular interest locally is his The Great Wave at Vancouver International Airport. He has also created works for the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, as well as major installations in Europe and Taiwan.
David Pearl of Toronto, a glass artist with an architectural background, is currently working with the Toronto Transit Commission to create a series of colour and light installations in large-scale glass works throughout a new subway station. He is design lead for the Chapel of the Living Light, a new chapel for the Green Mountain Monastery in Vermont, USA and is a sessional professor at Ontario College of Art and Design University.
Susan Point, a member of the Coast Salish First Nation, is an internationally recognized artist based in Vancouver. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Over her 30-year career as an artist, she has undertaken significant commissions in various media, including glass. Her work is represented in several U.S. states and the Pacific Northwest region.
The finalists were selected as the first step in a rigorous adjudicated commission process that will result in the design for the art glass cladding of the new bell spire. The Cathedral widely circulated an invitation to Canadian glass artists to submit their credentials and qualifications, and received more than 100 inquiries and 26 submissions by the deadline of July 15th.
The Cathedral’s Glass Advisory Panel selected the four finalists. The Panel includes architecture, construction, design and art professionals, knowledgeable community members, donors, and clergy. Members are Larry Beasley, chair; Allen Aubert; Catriona Jefferies; Darlene Poole; David Podmore; Michael Francis; Susan Knott; John Ross; and Cathedral Rector, the Very Reverend Peter Elliott.
The artists will submit their preliminary designs October 1, and these will be on public display in October. The artists will make presentations to the Advisory Panel on October 27. The selection of an artist for a design commission will be recommended to Cathedral Trustees at that date.
To find out more about the Raise the Roof, Ring the Bells, Feed the Hungry campaign and project please visit http://raisetheroof.thecathedral.ca/.
For further information, contact Joan Seidl.
Images: Top and homepage, Titled “The Mahli”, a three-section screen created by Susan Point in 2000. The Mahli is an ancient village site which is still part of the main Musqueam village today. The frame is the shape of a house symbolizing the Village. It is made from hand blown glass and maple. 6 feet by 11 feet by 3 inches. Upper right, A close up of the bird in “The Mahli” Photos by Kenji Nagai. Middle left, David Pearl’s coloured glass creation painting with light the interior of St. Gabriel’s Passionist Church, Toronto. Photo: Courtesy of David Pearl. Lower right, Lux Nova at Regent College UBC, solar powered wind tower by Sarah Hall. Photo by Michael Eikan. Bottom, Four Elements Windows by Lutz Haufschild at Westminster Abbey, Mission. Photo by Nathan Bauman