Chihuly, Dale

▪ 2003

      On July 6, 2002, Tacoma, Wash., unveiled a special public art commission: a 152.4-m (500-ft)-long pedestrian bridge adorned with dramatic glass sculptural forms. The bridge was created by Tacoma native Dale Chihuly, a glass sculptor who developed and refined the technique of glassblowing into an important contemporary art form. Co-designed by architect Arthur Andersson, the Chihuly Bridge of Glass provides a geographic as well as a cultural link, physically connecting two areas of the city and two museums—the Museum of Glass (which commissioned the project) and the Washington State History Museum. Meanwhile, the exhibition “Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass,” which opened in November 2001 at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory, was extended twice in 2002 to accommodate the public demand.

      Chihuly was born in Tacoma on Sept. 20, 1941. He studied interior design at the University of Washington (B.A., 1965), sculpture at the University of Wisconsin (M.S., 1967), and ceramics at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD; M.F.A., 1968), where he later held teaching positions. In 1968 he traveled to Italy on a Fulbright fellowship and worked at Venini Fabrica, the renowned glassblowing workshop in Murano, near Venice. During his time at Venini, he learned Venetian glassblowing techniques, as well as the importance of teamwork. (The latter proved especially important after a car accident in 1976 left him blind in one eye.) Returning to the U.S. in 1969, he established the RISD glassblowing program and founded (1971) the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Wash., where he created his first environmental installation—a group of clear glass bulbs floating on Pilchuck Pond. In 1996 he completed “Chihuly over Venice,” a collaborative international undertaking involving glassblowers from Finland, Ireland, and Mexico. That project included “Chandeliers” installed around the city and numerous glass forms that were set out to float freely along the Venetian canals.

      Although Chihuly was dependent on assistant gaffers (glassblowers), his vibrantly coloured glass creations were immediately recognizable as his own. The shapes were often organically derived forms that curved and undulated, and his technical innovations allowed for a tremendous range of patterns, colours, and textures. Chihuly's extended series, through which he explored all creative possibilities of a formal or thematic concept, included Blankets (cylindrical forms covered with patterns derived from Native American blankets), Seaforms (shapes evoking sea urchins, shells, and other marine life), and Chandeliers (large-scale hanging sculptures illuminated by natural light sources). Variations in scale made it possible for onlookers to experience his pieces as intimate, personal objects or to be completely immersed in them, as in his prismatic interior installations in museums, public spaces, and hotels. Notable among the latter category were Chihuly's ceiling sculpture (made of more than 2,000 hand-blown floral shapes) in the lobby of the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., and the Light of Jerusalem project (1999–2000), a large-scale piece in the courtyard of the Tower of David Museum that dramatically juxtaposes over a dozen of Chihuly's glass pieces with the rough-textured stone of the ancient site.

Meghan Dailey

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▪ American artist

born Sept. 20, 1941, Tacoma, Wash., U.S.

 

 American artist whose work in glass sculpture—often presented in complex and dynamic public projects—led to a resurgence of interest in that medium.

      Chihuly studied interior design at the University of Washington in Seattle (B.A., 1965) and received an M.S. in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied under Harvey Littleton. In 1968 he received an M.F.A. in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). That same year he traveled to Italy on a Fulbright fellowship and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant and worked at Venini Fabrica, the renowned glassblowing workshop in Murano, an island in the Venice Lagoon. Returning to the United States in 1969, he established the RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) glassblowing program and founded (1971) the influential Pilchuck Glass School north of Seattle. There he created the first of a number of environmental installations—a group of clear glass bulbs floating on Pilchuck Pond. He continued to teach at RISD until 1980.

      In 1976 an automobile accident left Chihuly blind in one eye, and thereafter he was dependent on assistant gaffers (glassblowers) to execute his distinctive designs. Chihuly's works in glass both echo and extend glass's historical relationship with functionality. Vase, basket, bowl, and other vessel forms dominate many of his individual pieces, though they are enlivened with rhythmic tempos and curvaceous motifs far removed from domestic use. In 1996 he completed Chihuly over Venice, a collaborative international undertaking involving glassblowers from Finland, Ireland, and Mexico. That project included Chandeliers (an enduring theme), which were installed around the city and lit by natural light, and numerous other glass forms that were released to float freely along the Venetian canals. In 2002 his Chihuly Bridge of Glass accompanied the opening of the Museum of Glass in his native Tacoma, Wash.

      Chihuly's vibrantly coloured, organic glass creations were immediately recognizable. His technical innovations enabled the production of a tremendous range of patterns, colours, and textures. Among his several extended series were Blankets (for which he used cylindrical forms covered with patterns derived from Native American blankets), Seaforms (shapes evoking sea urchins, shells, and other marine life), and Chandeliers (large-scale hanging sculptures illuminated by natural light sources). Variations in scale made it possible for onlookers to experience his pieces as intimate, personal objects or to be completely immersed in them, as in his prismatic interior installations in a variety of public spaces. Notable among the latter were Chihuly's ceiling sculpture (made of more than 2,000 hand-blown floral shapes) in the lobby of the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas and the Light of Jerusalem project (1999–2000), a large-scale exhibition in the courtyard of the Tower of David Museum that dramatically juxtaposed more than a dozen of Chihuly's glass installations with the timeworn, rough-textured stone of the ancient site.

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