Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly is frequently lauded for revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and is admired throughout the world for his prolific glass art, exhibitions, and activism. He was co-founder of Pilchuck Glass School in 1971 and served as its artistic director until 1989. He established the renowned glass program at Rhode Island School of Design. Chihuly has created a number of memorable installation exhibitions, including Chihuly Over Venice (1995–96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000 at the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem (2000), Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory (2001–2), the Chihuly Bridge of Glass in Tacoma (2002), and Mille Fiori at the Tacoma Art Museum (2003).

Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Chihuly started his career in architecture and interior design before studying glass with renowned artist and educator Harvey Littleton. Chihuly’s innovations took glass sculpture off the pedestal and onto the wall or ceiling, suspended from bridges, or perched in natural outdoor settings. He has pioneered the use of glass for spectacular, large-scale installations. In Tacoma alone, his Bridge of Glass, Union Station, and Tacoma News Tribune creations are excellent examples of this aspect of his work and artistic accomplishment. His arresting color and form, like that of French modern painter Henri Matisse, delights the eye. Matisse encouraged “an art of balance, of purity and serenity…like a good armchair in which to rest.” The richness of Chihuly’s work—orchestrations of light, color, form, and surface—provides rewarding visual experiences and enjoyment

[Source: TAM gallery texts]