Through Isabelle Tabin-Darbellay's stained glass windows, the light

Le Regard Libre N° 82 - Jonas Follonier

After two books based on texts by Jocelyne Gagliardi, Isabelle Tabin-Darbellay publishes with Editions Slatkine One day the color. The Valais artist presents her works in wool and glass, including over a hundred stained-glass windows created in Switzerland and abroad. A goldsmith's work that rhymes with patience, transcendence...and complicit dialogue with the glassmaker and upholsterer. Grandiose.

The churches of Aire-la-Ville and La Neuveville, Victoria Cathedral in the Seychelles, Saint-Pierre Cathedral in Lisieux, France, and, most recently, the Church of Saint-Martin in Valais: this small selection—from among the hundred or so sacred sites where stained-glass windows by Swiss artist Isabelle Tabin-Darbellay bring light to life—is simply breathtaking. It’s well worth perusing the nearly 200 pages of this new art book to grasp the artist’s talent. Moreover, she did not merely design this collection of reproduced works, just as she does not limit herself to painting in her artistic practice: through the author’s own words, the reader discovers the full scope of her creative thought behind her stained-glass works and, more recently, her tapestries.

The unique experiences involved in each of these two practices require one virtue: patience:

«In both arts, the work takes time to reveal itself. The installation of the final stained-glass window is decisive. It is the moment when the light is revealed. Similarly, one must wait until nightfall to see the tapestry. It is a moving moment for the artist and the artisan, who together have carried the dream and finally discover the fruit of such a long journey. I regard these stained-glass windows and tapestries as my children, but it is clear that without those who worked alongside me, they would never have seen the light of day. They are the result of a collaborative effort.»

From this collaborative effort, we also appreciate the technical insights the book offers, presented in a spirit of sharing that never compromises on aesthetic quality or the rigor of the subject matter. Moreover, beautiful phenomena are brought to light precisely through what is, above all, the story of a collaboration: respect, complementarity, camaraderie, mutual enrichment, mutual admiration, friendship, and trust. The work. And what a work it is!

As we close the book, a single desire takes hold of us: to follow the trail of Isabelle Tabin-Darbellay’s stained-glass windows, from town to town, as if on a pilgrimage. Art—and this is one of its strengths—manages to unite believers and non-believers in an encounter with that which is beyond us, with the transcendent, with the inexpressible. This journey begins with the senses and ends in the mind—and beyond. It’s so high. It’s so beautiful.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Yves Tabin

Isabelle Tabin-Darbellay
One day, color.
Stained Glass & Tapestry
Editions Slatkine
192 pages

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