Dan Barnes

Anew way to think about stained glass – that’s what you get when Dan Neil Barnes goes beyond traditional ideas about lamps and windows by adding treated metals, crafted wood and unique lighting to stained glass. His work moves the craft of stained glass into a new creative art form, one that pushes the idea of glass in art to a whole new level.

Governor’s Awards in the Arts

On October 13, 2023 Governor Andy Beshear presented Dan Barnes with the highest award an artist can receive in the Commonwealth of Kentucky – the Artist Award for lifetime achievement.

The Governor’s Awards in the Arts were presented at a public ceremony and celebration at the Lyric Theater in Lexington.

Life Spiral

Bluegrass Care Navigators commissioned this piece to hang in their renovated building “to provide an inspirational workspace that provides a place for clinicians to rejuvenate, rest and prepare for the care they provide to patients and families.”

Dan said he hopes to inspire viewers to focus on the spiral captured in his work, a positive force reflected in nature, in mathematics, and in the universe. Completed in 2021.

Lexington, Kentucky

Sun Quilt

Appalshop selected Dan to design and create an outdoor sculpture that reflects their mission and purpose.

“Sun Quilt,” is a seven foot tall stained glass sculpture mounted on a double-sided bench, just outside the entrance. Made of five interlocking squares that mimic the quilts common throughout Eastern Kentucky, the sculpture “connects the rich history of Kentucky to the present with bright, translucent glass.” Completed in 2020.

Whitesburg, Kentucky

Farm Raised

6 feet tall, 15 feet long, 15 feet wide

Commissioned by Field & Main Bank for their new headquarters, the design was inspired by the shapes of farm implements. The sculpture hangs six feet from the ceiling and is lit from above. Completed in 2019.

Lexington, Kentucky

Tractor Seat Sculpture in Field & Main Boardroom 

Inspired by John Deere tractor seats, and green in color representing money, this 8 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet high sculpture is suspended on a drop-column above the Boardroom table. It is visible from the street. Completed in 2019.

Three Moons
Over Abydos

4.5 feet tall, 12 feet long,
10 inches deep

This private commission was designed for this location and completed in 2019. The glass is illuminated by more than 100 feet of rope lights and 27′ of LED tape light, operated through a rheostat to vary the intensity of the light.

Jessamine County, Kentucky

Bucky Badger

10 feet tall

Collaborative bronze sculpture created by Douwe Blumberg, and the glass torso by Dan Neil Barnes. Commissioned by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, the sculpture was completed in 2017 and placed on the campus in Madison. The glass torso was designed to be illuminated at night for a very special effect. View more images in the Portfolio.

Madison, Wisconsin

Traverse- Two Sculptures

Fused glass – 15 feet tall, 12 feet wide, and 3 feet deep
Stained glass – 10 feet tall, 5 feet wide and 18 inches deep

Commissioned in 2016, these two works hang at opposite ends of the hallway in the front entrance to the Sloan Convention Center. As you walk down the large hallway your eye slowly travels up the sculpture. View more images in the Portfolio.

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Cascade

45 feet high, 22 feet wide, and 9 feet deep

Commissioned in 2013, this work hangs in the front entrance to the new Owensboro Convention Center and portrays the movement of the Ohio River that runs behind the center. The gentle curves of the piece are in contrast to the angular design of the building, bringing movement and color into the space. View more images in the Portfolio.

Owensboro, Kentucky

Commissioned by Women Leading Kentucky to design award for recipient Tipper Gore, May 9, 2006.

Commissioned by The Kentucky Arts Council to design the Governor’s Awards in the Arts 2006.