Why Dale Chihuly Is Glass Arts Modern Master

Following the success of his exhibition Beyond the Object at the Halcyon Gallery, London, which attracted over 25,000 visitors in its brief run from February – June 2014, the eyes of the artistic world have turned once again to the eminent, experimental sculptor Dale Chihuly (1941 – ) whose revolutionary and intricate glass works have made him one of the greatest artists of the generation.

‘As a kid I was always interested in glass, says Chihuly when asked about his unusual but nonetheless beautiful artistic sphere. ‘But it wasn’t until I had to take a weaving class at the University of Washington in the early 1960s that I made my first artistic use of it: I started weaving small pieces of glass into tapestries.’ Since then, Chihuly has become one of the most well-known sculptors and artists of the age. He is one of only four American artists whose work merited a solo show in the Louvre, and his sculptures have been exhibited everywhere from the V&A in London, to Dublin Castle, to the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel in Singapore. Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, he enrolled in the first glass programme in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he would later establish the glass programme and teach for more than a decade. But it was following his work experience at the Venetian glass factory on the small island of Murano after receiving a Fulbright Scholarship, that Chihuly really came to perfect his glass-blowing skills at a relatively young age. He says, ‘It was there I first observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way I work today.’

Chihuly’s commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum

Chihuly’s work is notable for its avant-garde ingenuity and intricacy – glass does not look like glass when under Chihuly’s control. His fascination with the earthly and ethereal means that Chihuly’s large-scale installations often present images in botanical, or underwater settings inspired by nature and the environment. The texture of the glass, blown to a multitude of colours, creates a truly escapist and even surreal visual experience. The recipient of 12 honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chihuly is a man who defies limitations. And this is seen in his expansive work which has been shown in more than 200 museum collections worldwide.

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