This is part of a ceiling (!) that you walk under, between two galleries. It is indescribably beautiful.
Molten glass ~ Vibrant, intense colors swirling and dancing in fantastical patterns and shapes ~ these form the creations of Dale Chihuly, a master of glass blowing. Dale’s imagination, creativity and skill has changed what people thought was possible with glass and through his teaching and art he has spawned a generation of magnificent glass artists whose works stem from his seemingly unlimited brilliance.
These are some of his colorful, organic shapes. Stunning!
I saw Dale’s work when I was in Seattle a couple of years ago and was completely fascinated with his ability to bring life to his imagination and use wizardry to create shapes that are achingly beautiful and seem to speak directly to your heart. His museum is an extravaganza of light, color, shapes and magic. Dale also has a significant collection of his works in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Seeing his collection and sharing it with Michael was on the top of my “Must Do” list during our Sarasota area stay.
This is a small portion of a display that filled an entire room. It was like walking into a surreal world of vibrant colors and amazing shapes
Dale also had a large display of painted art work that I believe are initial ideas for his glass creations. They were extraordinarily beautiful as well.
The Chihuly Collection is relatively small, you can walk the exhibit in an hour, and you can also spend a long time there being fascinated with Dale’s artistic process, his consummate skill and his ability to see worlds that we didn’t even know existed until we view his work and experience his magic. His works are complex. You can experience them at many levels – the “grok” level where you see and experience the whole piece, a more detailed level where you can see the components that comprise the piece or you can focus on each component and wonder … How did he think this up? … How did he form it? … How does it fit together? … How did he even imagine that glass could be manipulated like this? As you can see, I am fascinated and enchanted by his work and his influence.
This huge sphere had incredible detail and was part of a larger piece that is shown in its entirety, below. I have no idea how he does this.
In any setting, a single piece of his work is extraordinary – for example, a chandelier in an entranceway to a theater. When a group of his works are presented together, you get a view into a bewitching world of power, sorcery and enchantment. Do not miss any opportunity to see Dale’s extraordinary genius.
It’s hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to, it might be this. When Dale was studying in Venice, Italy he created lots of glass spheres. One day, he dropped them off a bridge into water to watch how they would look floating down the canal. He had some local boys collecting the spheres and they put them in an abandoned boat to bring them back. This is the inspiration for this complex and beautiful piece which was displayed on black glass so it reflects all the colors like water would do. This is a stunning piece. I originally saw it in Seattle and was thrilled that it is also displayed in St. Petersburg so I got to see it again and share it with Michael.