Chihuly's Most Recent Photosynths

Venetians + Ikebana

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:54:58 Z

"I had never worked with European masters, because my work had always been unorthodox and asymmetrical, and the idea of working with a European master didn't make sense. But the great Muranese master Lino Taglipietra and I decided that we'd try to do something together, so I designed a series that was a takeoff from some Venetian Art Deco pieces I had seen that were from the 1920s. And I was able to sketch them, and from those sketches, Lino began to work. I took my Venetians and added long-stemmed glass flowers and leaves, which evolved into my Ikebana series. I started calling them Ikebana partly because I had just been to Japan. The quintessential Ikebana would be a base piece with a long stem coming out of it, perhaps two or three stems. And it might be six feet high. "

Tabac Baskets

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:54:34 Z

"I had seen some beautiful Indian baskets at the Washington State Historical Society, and I was struck by the grace of their slumped, sagging forms. I wanted to capture this in glass. The breakthrough for me was recognizing that heat and gravity were the tools to be used to make these forms. "

Glass Forest #3

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:40:30 Z

"The artist lit opaque glass stalks with neon, argon, krypton, and xenon gasses. This installation is based on two earlier ones from 1971-72—Glass Forest #1 and #2—created in collaboration with James Carpenter. Very early on, when I was about thirty years old, I did a white Glass Forest with James Carpenter for the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York. All the white glass was put on a black background, black base, black walls, and black ceiling."

sharonopstbaum Over 1 year ago

Dear God! It is he! Mr Chihuly, it is truly an honor to meet you in this way. I am going with a group to see your works in the New Britain Museum in Connecticut next month. I am so excited to have found your personal synths. Thank you for all you do. I hate cliches but your work as displayed in your synths is truly breathtaking. I will probably faint with excitement when I see your works live. See, fellow synthers, it pays to explore these files, you never know when you will meet up with someone as talented and generous as the famous Dale Chihuly! Outstanding!

Reeds

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:23:45 Z

"Chihuly made the first Reeds in 1995 at the Hackman factory in Nuutajärvi, a small glassblowing town in Finland. Unlike other factories, the Hackman facility has very high ceilings, which inspired Chihuly to make these elongated forms. To create the long, tubular shape of a Reed, one glassblower must be elevated in a mechanical lift while blowing through the pipe to encourage the form to stretch, while another pulls the glass toward the ground. In Finland we started making these long, cylindrical pieces which looked like spears. This was an exciting new form. It was the first time we ever made anything like that. They can be taken anywhere—they can go outside. They are very strong pieces, and they are very dramatic."

Bluebrad Over 1 year ago

cool
that's really cool

Persians

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:17:22 Z

"Chihuly made his first Persians in 1988. Their fluted edges are the result of using a ribbed mold during the glass blowing process, followed by intensely spinning the glass in the last heat of the forming process. Their stripes, which Chihuly calls a “bodywrap” reminded him of early Byzantine core-formed glass vessels, which inspired the series’ name. The Persians were the first of Chihuly’s series to evolve into room-size site-specific installations."

Boats

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:55:34 Z

"Chihuly first filled boats with glass in Finland during the Chihuly Over Venice project in 1995. After several days of glassblowing, Chihuly and the team made temporary installations along the Nuutajoki, the river nearby. He often tossed glass into the river, letting it float downstream. Local kids in small wooden rowboats gathered them, and it was probably then that Chihuly saw the opportunity for a new type of installation. When the team found a partially submerged wooden rowboat, which was hauled out and emptied of mud and debris, Chihuly filled it to overflowing with glass. He has continued to revisit the "Boat" idea ever since."

cgarcia Over 1 year ago

This synth does not download pictures...????