Dale Chihuly
Float Drawing, Venice

About the Item

Float Drawing, Venice By. Dale Chihuly (American, b. 1941) With frame: 40.75 x 28.75 inches Without frame: 36.5 x 24.75 inches Edition: 142/150 bottom right Signed in Paint bottom center 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, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade. In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971, Chihuly co-founded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art. His work is included in more than 200 hundred museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including twelve honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Chihuly has created more than a dozen well-known series of works, among them Cylinders and Baskets in the 1970s; Seaforms, Macchia, Venetians, and Persians in the 1980s; Niijima Floats and Chandeliers in the 1990s; and Fiori in the 2000s. He is also celebrated for large architectural installations. In 1986, he was honored with a solo exhibition, Dale Chihuly objets de verre, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, in Paris. In 1995, he began Chihuly Over Venice, for which he created sculptures at glass factories in Finland, Ireland, and Mexico, then installed them over the canals and piazzas of Venice. In 1999, Chihuly started an ambitious exhibition, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem; more than 1 million visitors attended the Tower of David Museum to view his installations. In 2001, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London curated the exhibition Chihuly at the V&A. Chihuly's lifelong fascination for glasshouses has grown into a series of exhibitions within botanical settings. His Garden Cycle began in 2001 at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. Chihuly exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London, in 2005. Other major exhibition venues include the de Young Museum in San Francisco, in 2008, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2011. Chihuly Garden and Glass opened at Seattle Center in 2012. For Chihuly, drawing is every bit as natural as glassblowing. Chihuly works with acrylic paints, watercolors, ink, pencil, charcoal, graphite—even fire—to express his ideas with energy and exuberance. They range from light and ethereal to bold and colorful. Some relate to Chihuly’s glass sculptures, others are an experience all their own. Chihuly’s Works on Paper allow him to explore his grandest schemes. He often draws while standing, allowing him to express ideas more freely and physically. Chihuly says, “Drawing is a fluid process, as glassblowing is a fluid process.” Drawing has been a natural part of Chihuly’s vocabulary since his days as an interior design student at University of Washington, where he was trained to make meticulous pencil-and-wash renderings.

Creator:
Dale Chihuly (1941, American)
Dimensions:
Height: 36.5 in (92.71 cm)Width: 24.75 in (62.87 cm)
Medium:
Mixed Media,Acrylic,Lithograph
Movement & Style:
American Modern
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Missouri, MO
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU747312535702
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Shop All Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly

With his sculptural works that fuse naturalistic forms with vibrant colors, Dale Chihuly has established himself as one of the world’s preeminent contemporary makers of art glass. The Tacoma, Washington, native’s experimental techniques — manifest in large-scale glass sculptures, installations and environmental artworks alongside smaller table-top pieces — combine fine art, design, architecture and craft.

Chihuly’s inspired creative energy has brought glass blowing to a place at the forefront of the arts in the United States. His prolific body of work is coupled with a dedication to artistic instruction, education and community. Trained in interior design at the University of Washington, he pursued graduate work with Harvey Littleton, who built the first academic art glass program in the U.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After further studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, Chihuly was awarded a 1968 Fulbright Fellowship to study glass blowing at the Venini glass factory on the island of Murano in Venice, where he was first introduced to group collaboration in glass making. Not only has Chihuly been committed to his own improvement as an artist, but he has also devoted much of his career to sharing his knowledge. He returned to RISD as an instructor, and after working there for more than a decade and he cofounded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State in 1971. An automobile accident in 1976 left Chihuly blind in one eye; a subsequent injury while bodysurfing weakened one shoulder, leaving him reliant on assistant glassblowers to execute his designs.

Chihuly’s skills and technical innovations have allowed him to make pieces in an astonishing array of patterns, textures and hues — yet his work can be recognized immediately. He has created several notable extended series of artworks. These include his “Seaforms,” which evoke shells, starfish and other marine animals; “Blankets,” which are composed of cylindrical units in patterns suggested by Native American textiles; and, most famously, his grand chandeliers made up of scores of curling, curving, pepper-shaped elements. Whether large or small, as you will see on 1stDibs, the works of Dale Chihuly blend practical flair and bravura artistry. They are a highlight of any contemporary art and design collection.