Juxtaposing blown glass art pieces with nature, renowned American contemporary fine artist Dale Chihuly uses vibrant colours and light to enhance the aesthetic impact of his physical art – striking and luminous forms that are at once organic and incredibly elaborate. From his work, it is clear where he draws his inspiration – his love for the ocean and its creatures, and his fascination with abstract natural forms, gardens, and geometric shapes.
Those who have seen Dale Chihuly’s work have always used the same words to describe the glass sculptures… mesmerising, grand, vibrant, intense. As well they should. His sculptures cascade, or are suspended – floating, stunning, vivid, diaphanous and a tad fragile. His use of dramatic lighting gives the glass in each piece a power that is almost hypnotic.
Since he lost vision in his left eye in a car accident, Chihuly has employed a team of artisans to translate his concepts from paint and canvas into vast installations and three-dimensional forms. Like a choreographer to a group of dancers, he directs his artists to work with plastic, water, ice and an acrylic-type material with blown glass to create multi-part blown glass masterpieces, relying heavily on colour, design and assemblage. Each piece is blown individually before all are collected and assembled into one complex form. After completion, he steps back to take in the fruits of everyone’s work, and watches as the light dances on the sculptures, exactly as he had envisioned.
Credited for graduating blown glass from a mere craft to an exceptional fine art, Chihuly leads the contemporary glass movement with his immediately recognisable creations. He has held exhibitions around the world and in different venues – in galleries, gardens, hotels, public buildings and private homes. His work has earned him 12 honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in America.
“It is a natural evolution,” the artist says, as he admits that sometimes his forms are accidental results of something he had been attempting to modify. And natural it is, as sometimes, people mistake his sculptures – particularly the ones resembling plants and flowers – to be the real thing. What is real is the intensity of his creations, that take over the senses and momentarily blur the line between art and reality.
