Denis Brown works available wholesale ex-studio.
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- GLASS ART
- CALLIGRAPHY ON PAPER

Glass Art with calligraphy

These works have a 3-D aspect that photos cannot display. They comprise multiple sheets of engraved glass spaced c. 5mm apart above background image which provides the color and additional texture. All dimensions include framing which unless otherwise stated is in handmade wooden box frames with a white waxed finish over ash veneer.

'Columbanus against the storm', version 1 of 2, Denis Brown, 2011, 43x43x6cm, Euro620 ex studio
Hand engraved writing on 4 sheets of glass over painted paper. Detail below.

Detail shot above. 

The winds raise blasts, wild rain storms wreak their spite, but ready strength of men subdues it all- Heave men! And let resounding echo sound our 'heave'.
This line, engraved on the top sheet of glass, is from a medieval Irish lyric attributed to St. Columbanus. The saint offers a poetic exhortation to his monks to persevere to the end. Three other glass sheets are engraved both sides with more text from the same lyric, layered up so the text is lost but an image emerges.
My form aims to convey a state of multi-layered turmoil, although echoes of a Celtic spiral reveal a logical structure within apparent chaos.

'Columbanus against the storm', version 2 of 2, Denis Brown, 2011, 3x43x6cm, Euro620 ex studio
Hand engraved writing on 4 sheets of glass over painted paper. Detail below.

Detail shot above.

The winds raise blasts, wild rain storms wreak their spite, but ready strength of men subdues it all- Heave men! And let resounding echo sound our 'heave'.
The bold part of his line is engraved on the top sheet of glass. The text is attributed to St. Columbanus.
My form aims to convey a state of multi-layered turmoil, although echoes of a Celtic spiral reveal a logical structure within apparent chaos.

Works below are from my series 'A Thousand Wishes' where I engraved wishes e-mailed to me from an international audience in response to a request I put out.
Each work contains about 30 wishes, all written on top of each other so the meaning is hidden yet implicit and the 3-D shape forms an image of  a dandelion seed-head. Close inspection can facilitate reading only of a single wish on the topmost sheet of glass.

Wishie no.54, 2010. Hand engraved writing on 4 sheets of glass over a unique print on hand painted paper, featuring an image digitally composed of blurred scans from the engraved glass sheets and combined with a photograph of a dandelion seed-head. Detail below. Top layer wish: 'Dance the old ways, trust the knowing, mens and heal, energy flowing. Detail below.  38x38x5cm   Euro530

Detail shot above. 

Detail shot above. 

Below: Wishie no.60,

. 55x75x6cm Euro 1,280
This is the first work in the series featuring more than a single dandelion image. It is quite a bit larger than the others and features a special frame which I custom gilt with aluminium leaf and gold leaf, and it has a hand engraved clear acrylic frame surround that casts shadows on a light wall. (The lowest photo on this page shows the engraving on the frame better, against a dark background).
Top layer wishes: 'I wish I was a snowflake that never touched the ground' and 'I wish I knew what drives you, I wish I knew your fondest wish'.
Several Detail Images below.

Ravens Gnawing, 2016. Unframed, 12” x 26”, 32 x 67 cm. Euro 640, USD $ 710.
Layers of calligraphy between glazes of oil paint. The text “Ravens gnawing mens necks” refers to corpses killed in battle being scavenged upon. It is from the classic Irish myth, “Táin Bó Cúailnge.”

FLOWer, 2016. Mounted in a museum board window matt as illustrated, 14” x 11”, 36 x 28 cm. Euro 240, USD $ 270.
Sumi ink and gouache on polyester drafting film over Saunders watercolour paper with additioanl art.

Turning Darkness into Light, 2016. Mounted in a window matt (not illustrated) which is gilt in aluminum leaf to match the artwork. Mounted dimensions , 26” x 17”, 65 x 43 cm. Euro 2,600, USD $ 2,900.
Gouache and acrylic inks on paper gilt with aluminium leaf and with flecks of gold leaf. The paper has also been sprayed with diluted white gesso to highlight key areas. Text from the 9th-century Irish poem "Pangur Bán" is illustrated with both Celtic drawings and Pac-man imagery.

Intimate, 2015. Unframed, 16” x 23.5”, 41 x 60 cm. Euro 270, USD $ 300.
The word intimate has been freely written in orange gouache on the front of a translucent sheet of polyester film, and in white on the reverse. Dots of gloss black paint fill a corner of the enlarged N and, on the reverse, fill part of the enlarged A.The translucent film is mounted against a black sheet of paper. One of about 5 original renditions made together.

In the beginning was the Word, 2015. Unframed, 25” x 22”, 64 x 56 cm. Euro 270, USD $ 300.
Polyrhythmic calligraphy on BFK Rives paper (upper) and navy coloured Canson paper (lower), with a gilded paper strip between them with latin text. One of about 6 original renditions made together.

To discuss any work further or to arrange a private viewing in studio, please contact me.

Thank you,
Denis Brown