Kvietinskaite, Guoda
Stevens Competition Commission Winner 2021
Guoda Kvietinskaite was born in Lithuania and undertook an Art Studies Professional Diploma in Kaunas College of Higher Education, Lithuania from 2006-2009. This was followed by a Glass Design Diploma in Anadolu University, Turkey from 2007-2008 and a BA Visual Art Diploma in Vilnius University of Education (Institute of Cultural and Arts Education), Lithuania from 2009 – 2010
Since 2017 she has been working in the Piotr Frac studio ( East London) on personal stained glass works, private commissions and restorations.
Guoda says “I absolutely admire traditional stained glass art. Even so, I want to move beyond the traditional understanding of it and show this beautiful craft in a new light which doesn’t just stick to church imagery but instead allows everyone to discover and express it as a contemporary art form. I love drawing portraits and so five years ago I decided to draw them on stained glass. Glass reflection highlights the subtlety of a portrait and gives much more jocosity and characteristic to it.
Winning the commission for “Stepping into the World” from Haberdashers’ Girls School as a result of the 2021 Stevens Competition is a huge honour. It will allow me to develop as a professional artist, while also utilising my previous experience both as a stained glass artist and as a teacher of Art & Design in London schools.”
The window was made at the Piotr Frac studio and installed in the summer of 2022. Opposite is an image of the winning design along with a couple of images of the window under construction and the installed panel.
If you would like to see a short video of Guoda Kvietinskaite creating a feather for “Stepping onto the World” follow the link to a one minute film on Vimeo here.
Guoda Kvietinskaite ‘s artist statement for “Stepping into the World” can be found here.
The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and the Stevens Competition
The Worshipful Company of Glaziers first appears in written records in 1364-65 during the reign of Edward III, when the emphasis was on the protection of the personal economic welfare of Glaziers. However, in recent times the focus has shifted to the preservation of the heritage of stained glass and to the support of education in architectural glass art, design and conservation.
In 1932 the Company launched an annual competition for young artists, which from 1972 operated under the banner of the Stevens Competition. The competition provided an opportunity for aspiring architectural glass artists, designers, and craftsmen to compete in a format which simulated the process typically undertaken in order to obtain a commercial commission.