An investigation into the translation of material aspects in the craft of stained glass into manual printing methods

Elke Van Kerckvoorde (Ghent 1992) studied at Luca School of Arts in Ghent (Master Fine Arts 2014). She started as a painter and immersed herself in various graphic techniques, exploring the boundary between fine art and craft. In 2019/2020 she was a resident in the Development Programme of Kunsthal Gent, aiming to broaden her graphic practice with an investigation into the craft process of stained glass. What atmosphere does a stained glass window evoke, what is typical of this ancient craft? On 7 and 8 May (parallel to the Ghent Art Book Fair 2022) Elke Van Kerckvoorde will share the various steps she discovered to translate the characteristic elements of stained glass into printed matter.

She examined the shapes and transparency of the glass, the lines of the lead, contrasts between light/dark, positive/negative, but also the aspect of time (the changing position of the sun) and its effect on the space of Kunsthal Gent - in collaboration with the design duo PutGootink, among others. She took these elements as a basis for making a manual print and experimented with ways of reinforcing them through different printing processes. With the help of intern Sarah de Laet, various printing techniques (screen printing, risography, lead etching, photograms, digital printing, lasercut, vinyl plots...) were tested to their limits.

Location: Studio Permanently Practising
Development programme Kunsthal Gent