Magnus del Busolo
Magnus del Busolo is a permanent artwork conceived for the sacred space of the 14th-century church of the family of Conti da Lisca di Formighedo. It was designed in response to the patrons’ desire to commission a new work of contemporary artistic expression, both beautiful and functional, for the church which their family has maintained and enhanced for centuries.
The two sculptural shelves in ash reach from the ceiling and emerge from the floor, fraying into layers over the congregation before stretching along the walls of the nave. The composition expresses the dual movement of the connection with the divine, heaven to earth and vice versa, in an evocative representation. The glass oil lamps, designed by Joseph Walsh and blown in Murano, nestle on the shelves, their light symbolizing the votive offering of the church community.
The fluidity of forms and the light from above, enclosing the parishioners, contributes to a peaceful atmosphere within the church. The result is a dialogue which connects history with the present and projects it towards the infinite longing of the future.
- Year designed:
- Materials: Olive Ash
- Finish: White Oil
- Dimensions: 4665 x 7308 x 1935mm
- Edition of: Unique
- Year designed:
- Materials: Olive Ash
- Finish: White oil
- Dimensions: 5150 x 7490 x 2275mm
- Edition of: Unique
- Year designed: 2016
- Materials: Olive ash
- Finish: White oil
- Dimensions: 1744 x 554 x 865mm
- Edition of: Unique
About the Magnus series
"Magnus is a drawing in air, an idea – an emotion expressed through form that is serene or complex, created to engage with us in a physical and intuitive way." Joseph Walsh
The title Magnus, from the Latin for large or great, reflects the scale and presence of these sculptures which encircle the viewer and redefine the architecture of the spaces for which they are designed.
The series represents a challenge in innovation to transpose Joseph Walsh’s approach to material and form from the intimate scale of an object to hold in the hand to the monumental scale of an object to stand within. The grace and flow of the finished forms belies the complex process from sketch models to design development, prototyping and engineering through which they have been realised.
