Thomas Denny: Transfiguration Window
Title: Transfiguration Window
Artist: Thomas Denny (b. 1956, British)
Location: South Quire Aisle, Durham Cathedral (C of E)
Date: 2009–10
This work was shortlisted for the ACE Award for Art in a Religious Context 2011.
This work ‘was created in honour of Bishop Michael Ramsey, and intended to reflect his theological interests, in particular his fascination with the Transfiguration of Christ … The window is in the South Quire Aisle and is 16x16m in size. This window is technically very assured and of high quality. Its location means that it can only really be seen at close quarters, and it is indeed very detailed in its depiction of biblical images.’ (The Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling reporting for the ACE award for Art in a Religious Context)
Thomas Denny (b. 1956, British) is a leading British stained glass artist. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art and now lives in Dorset. His work can be seen in around thirty British churches and cathedrals.
His windows are noted for the distinctive way in which light and colour move across the surface. He achieves this remarkable effect by acid etching and silver staining each small piece of glass, which results in very subtle colour distinctions. In an interview with Ann Wroe for 1843 (formerly Intelligent Life), Denny explained that ‘beauty in its own right’ determines his use of colour, rather than any symbolic significance. Likewise his detailed depiction of natural objects such as in his Bolton Percy window, are simply ‘nature expressing the glory of God, or perhaps the “insideness” of God in creation.’
See more information here.
Further information
Medium: Stained glass
Size: 16 x 16m
Permanent display
See Denny’s Transfiguration Window on the Ecclesiart map here.
Commissioner: Friends of Durham Cathedral and the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral
Other artworks in churches by Thomas Denny: St John’s, Tralee, Co Kerry; St Peter’s, Wallsend; Leicester Cathedral; St Paul’s, Shurdington; St James’s, Stanstead Abbots; All Saints’, Woodford, Wilts., St Catherine’s College Chapel, Cambridge; St Edburga’s, Leigh; St Hedda’s, Egdon Bridge; St Mary’s, Temple Guiting; St Michael’s, Abenhall; St Peter’s, Ipsley; St Margaret’s, Millington; Sunderland Minster; Hereford Cathedral; Malvern Priory; St Peter’s, Martley; Tewkesbury Abbey; Three Windows of Light; Grafton Underwood Parish Church. See more information here.