Torroella
Torroella Conservation and restoration of stained glass since 1923 The church of Sant Genís
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Conservation and restoration of stained glass since 1923
M. Bonet creates his own designs and collaborates with artists by translating their ideas into glass. We are always looking for new expressive possibilities, adapting traditional techniques to current trends and technologies.
Stained glass windows are usually an element associated with architecture. In the construction of new projects as well as in conservation and restoration, it is usually necessary for the architect, artist, historian, curator, conservator or person responsible for the property to request the opinion of a specialist. Either to assess the state of conservation, contrast opinions on the different construction solutions and clarify the disadvantages and advantages of each case.
The artist’s commitment is always to integrate the work with its surroundings. Stained glass can complete interiors and fill spaces with new textures of light and color, it is an imaginative and elegant alternative to other decorative resources. The compositional and color richness of leaded glass techniques are unlimited and, at the same time, inimitable, impossible to achieve with any other technique. Among many others, the stained glass windows for the Temple of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona by Joan Vila-Grau, and the stained glass window for the Carmelites of San José in Tarragona, designed by Pilar de Ahumada, are some of the new projects carried out.
Darius Vilàs, Ramon Rogent, Ramón Calzina, Roca Sastre, Will Faber, Viladecans, Grau Garriga, Subirachs, Vila-Grau, Hernández Pijoan, Ràfols Casamada, Tano Pisano, Perico Pastor, Marta Blasco, Andrea Ortega, Jaume Cases, Jaume Cuadrench and the architects Pericas, Jujol, Puig Boada, Rubió i Bellver among many others are some of the architects and artists with whom we have collaborated.
The workshop collaborates with artists to develop their projects. At the root of the company is a commitment to innovation and research into new ideas and uses of glass. J.M. Bonet is the hand that guides the artist in the translation of paper sketches to the final stained glass windows that will illuminate the temples. The stained glass transforms the raw light into complex spectra that fluctuate throughout the day in changing hues. These are the intentional fruit of the work that the team composed of the artist and the master glassmaker have developed.
The construction of artistic stained glass is a specialty in which few artists are trained. On the other hand, many artists are often commissioned to design stained glass windows. Stained glass is a specific field in which the materials, glass, grisaille, enamel are often unknown to the creator. Sometimes it is even designed without having a clear idea of how it will be made or what materials the stained glass will use.
In order to dispel all these doubts, the workshop works side by side with the artist presenting materials and methods, making samples to bring the artist or designer closer to the final aspect of the finished project. In the case of stained glass, the art and design on paper must be translated and transferred to the glass artwork without losing the character, spirit and intention of the initial project. Artistic consulting has yielded spectacular results in the creation of major works, in private collections, in temples and public spaces.
Stained glass consulting requires knowledge of the space and the artist’s intention. The artist must know and see firsthand the properties of the materials, from the intensity and depth of the colors of the glass, unmatched by any other material, to the most mechanical properties. Stained glass windows have unique properties and the design and project must extract all the virtues of the material while avoiding all the drawbacks. It is common to see errors in composition, execution and poor choice of glass that could have been easily solved with some basic recommendations.
Stained glass windows are works of art that once built will remain for a very long time in the space where they were built, so it is worth having a good artistic advisor with proven solvency to advise on the pros and cons of each decision. It is a very satisfying process of dialogue and learning for both parties, the artist and the glazier.
In this field, we provide the client with the ability to correct possible deterioration by working directly on the deteriorated windows as well as with advisory/consulting services to heritage managers, architects, restorers in the drafting of conservation-restoration projects to know the state of conservation of their stained glass windows and the stages and future costs of their restoration.
J.M. Bonet’s conservators visit the building and generate comprehensive reports documenting deterioration and proposing long-term conservation strategies and estimated costs for the various proposals. J.M. Bonet’s technicians are in charge of the conservation strategies of the stained glass windows of several protected buildings.
Torroella Conservation and restoration of stained glass since 1923 The church of Sant Genís
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