Granda Liturgical Arts is one of the very well known, multi-disciplinary, contemporary liturgical art firms, working in diverse fields ranging from vestments, metalwork, woodworking and ore. As part of our ever popular "before and after" series, I wanted to share with our readers a project they executed in 2017 at the parish of St. Augustine's in Granada, Spain.
The parish in question had the bones for the making of a very noble edifice, but something was certainly 'missing' in the before state. Granda's solution ingeniously incorporated the existing altar painting and crucifix, leaving them in essentially the same positioning, as well as incorporating the two statues found in the sanctuary, wrapping a reredos around these existing components. The end result is a cohesive altarpiece that gives new order and focus to the altar and sanctuary; one that is not only now more ornate, but also much more noble, beautiful and simple -- a seeming "paradox" which we never tire of pointing out.
Let's take a few more looks at the new arrangement:
The altarpiece itself is created from wood, but given a faux marble finishing to integrate it with the existing altar, made from red and green marbles. d
While the previous ordering lacked focus and artistic merit, being instead a hodge-podge collection of disparate, competing elements that almost made one forget about the altar, the new ordering gives the necessary focus and beauty that divine worship merits.
For more information, please visit Granda's website or see them on social media.
