SAX SHAW, BORN 1988
BIOGRAPHY
Sax Shaw is a third-generation Scottish stained glass artist working at the intersection of sculpture, craft, and public installation. Based in Edinburgh, Shaw bridges the endangered heritage of stained glass with contemporary narratives and experimental approaches to material, light, and form. His practice challenges conventional boundaries of the medium by integrating structural innovation—reimagining stained glass as an immersive, socially engaged art form.
Shaw began his apprenticeship in stained glass under his father, Christian Shaw, and grandfather, Sax Shaw (Senior), and has worked in the field since 2006. He graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2021, where he developed a multidisciplinary process rooted in emotional resonance and contemporary material processing. Central to his work are themes of mental health, and community, often expressed through contemplative installations that invite reflection and dialogue around collective experience of contemporary life.
Committed to sustainability and material innovation, Shaw is developing lead-free stained glass techniques and exploring new methods of fabrication that honour and expand the craft’s legacy. His work often emerges through site-specific commissions and institutional collaborations.
PROJECT ARCHIVE
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Five Elements Garden, Paris, France || Artist residency [2023 - 2025]
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Custom Lane, Edinburgh, Scotland || Exhibition (GLASS: Art in Architecture) [2024]
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British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge, England || Exhibition [2024] ​
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Glass Art Society (GAS) conference, Berlin, Germany || Invited panel discussion [2024]
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YMCA Perth, YMCA Tayside, Perth || Stained glass restoration programme & community engagement [2023]​
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George Heriot’s Chapel, George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh || Stained glass conservation programme [2022]
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Hidden Door Arts Festival, Edinburgh || Exhibition [2022]
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Garrison Chapel, Historic Environment Scotland, Fort George || Conservation programme [2021 - 2022]
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The Hub, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh || Restoration programme [2021 – 2022]
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Cowane’s Hospital, Benjamin Tindall Architects, Stirling || Conservation & Restoration programme [2019 - 2020]
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Anya Gallaccio, Nicky & Robert Wilson, Jupiter Artland + National Galleries of Scotland || Collaborative production [2019]
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Hidden Door Arts Festival, Edinburgh || Exhibition [2019]
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The Playfair at Donaldson’s, City & Country, Edinburgh || Restoration programme [2018 – 2020]
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Hidden Door Arts Festival, Edinburgh || Exhibition [2017]
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Selwyn Bazeley, New Craftsman Gallery, London || Collaborative production [2015]
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Hidden Door Arts Festival, Edinburgh || Exhibition [2015]
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Morenish Chapel Tiffany Studios Window, Killin & Ardeonaig Parish Church, Killin || Conservation [2015]
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Invercauld House, Iwan & Manuela Wirth + Benjamin Tindall Architects, Invercauld || Conservation programme [2013]
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Martino Gamper, Modern Institute, Glasgow || Collaborative production [2013]
STUDIO OVERVIEW
Stained glass occupies a unique position at the intersection of art, architecture, craft, and design. While it is often associated with historic buildings, its relevance today is frequently overlooked. Yet stained glass has the power to transform light within space, creating a dynamic play of brilliance that can invigorate and animate its surroundings.
Like many traditional crafts, stained glass has faced significant challenges in recent years. Rigid conventions have constrained material exploration and slowed innovation, contributing to a growing disconnect between the craft and contemporary culture.
Despite the widespread use of glass in modern architecture, its expressive potential remains underexplored. Shaw approaches stained glass as a monumental art form—one that shapes how we perceive light, space, and emotion. He champions its reinvention as a contemporary medium, capable of redefining the environments we inhabit through an immersive interplay of material, colour, and light.
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Through the development of lead-free techniques and the integration of digital fabrication technologies, Shaw challenges the traditional boundaries of stained glass and reimagines it as a contemporary visual language. This approach not only preserves the heritage of multi-generational glassmaking but also expands its expressive potential for new audiences.
Mental health is a core theme of Shaw's practice as well as the disintegration of communal support structures—particularly the role the religious hubs once played in collective emotional life. Shaw is drawn to craft as both a therapeutic process for the maker and a powerful, non-verbal means of emotional communication for the viewer. Shaw’s installations create environments for contemplation and conversation around subjects such as mental health, emotional suppression, and toxic masculinity.
Craft has long been shaped by rigid traditions, which have at times contributed to its marginalisation within the broader art world. For craft to remain vital, it must embrace interdisciplinary exchange, welcome diverse perspectives, and challenge binary notions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways of making. Shaw honours the centuries-old techniques of stained glass while embracing innovation, intuition, and fluidity as essential forces in craft’s continued evolution.