Room-defining light painting

Munich artist Susanne Wagner has created an unusual place of contemplation and hope in Munich, using coloured glass and glass reinterpretations of beliefs. For the tower chapel in Maria Ramersdorf, she filled the ogival cut-out in the wall with aluminium tubes of the same diameter, stacked one on top of the other. These tubes are covered with coloured glass panes, which were hand-made in the kiln by craftsmen from van Treeck's workshops, creating round panes that are partly flat and partly relief-like.

16 of the 159 coloured circles are marked with incantations and associated symbols. The artist first modelled these emblems in clay. Using a special moulding technique, the artisans then created negative moulds into which the coloured glass was melted. The relief panes allude to pilgrim medals and votive offerings, translating them into a contemporary interpretation.

"The sequence of colours ranges from violet at the bottom to red, orange and bright yellow, especially in front of the window. From the darkness, symbolic of repentance, the gaze wanders into the light and thus into the glory as a sign of the Christian hope of resurrection. A carefully installed artificial backlighting supports the colour image and ensures that it can be experienced even without daylight," Dr. Alexander Heisig, art officer at the Archbishop's Ordinariate, describes Susanne Wagner's stunning contemporary installation in Munich's oldest pilgrimage church.