Chapel of the Holy Family
current project – in progress
The stained-glass artwork of the Chapel of the Holy Family draws on the spirit of the Gothic tradition – that epoch in which architecture, light, and transcendence formed an inseparable unity. While the Gothic language of form translated the upward striving of the spirit into vertical movement, this work takes up the same idea in a contemporary, reduced manner. The clear, rectangular format integrates harmoniously into the rhythmically structured architecture of the chapel and itself becomes a place of contemplation and light.
The image is painted on glass – a translucent medium that not only reflects light but absorbs and transforms it. This creates an immediate experience of transcendence: the visible opens toward the invisible, the material becomes a vessel for the spiritual. Through the interplay of translucency and density, of color and transparency, light becomes the true protagonist of the image.
Within, a delicate web of color, structure, and movement unfolds. Red, the color of Mary, takes center stage – a symbol of love, maternal warmth, and divine vitality. Shades of white and gold flow through the work like luminous veins, referring to purity, grace, and the divine light that permeates all things. In this chromatic tension arises a quiet radiance that immerses the space in an atmosphere of devotion.
Between the layers of color, floral structures emerge – reminiscences of Marian flower iconography, long associated since the Middle Ages with purity, devotion, and life itself. The floral forms do not appear naturalistically, but as symbolic traces, subtle resonances of creation.
At the center of the work, a faintly indicated white cube appears – a geometric form suggesting an inner, sheltered space. It symbolizes family: security, trust, and love. This cube forms the spiritual heart of the image – a place of stillness and gathering, where light itself seems to dwell safely – a symbol of the Holy Family as the origin and foundation of human life.
Thus, the glass painting becomes a window in a double sense: it allows light to pass through and transforms it; it opens the view outward and at the same time inward. In this interplay of light and color, of the visible and invisible, the central aspiration of Gothic light aesthetics is reinterpreted – the experience of transcendence in the here and now.
The image invites the viewer to look, to pause, and to let the heart ascend inwardly.
KONZENquaDRAT
current project – in progress
With KONZENquaDRAT, Dieter Nusbaum is developing a new series that explores the idea of concentration in both form and process. Its point of departure is the square – a fixed dimension of 50 × 50 cm, serving as a constant framework for experimental image-making. Within this defined boundary, works emerge in which painting, drawing, and silkscreen printing enter into dialogue with one another.
Layers of color, structure, and sign form dense visual fields in which figuration and abstraction flow into one another. The recurring format creates order and rhythm – while at the same time allowing openness to variation and evolution. The works are created on glass and wood, combining precise composition with a strong sense of craftsmanship.
Each piece is part of an ongoing investigation into form, structure, and perception. Step by step, a body of work is taking shape that reexamines the square as a space of concentrated artistic experience.