vibrantly colored hand-blown glass gardens by dale chihuly

the chihuly exhibition in montreal
installation view of turquoise reeds, 2012
image courtesy of the montreal museum of fine arts

dale chihuly
montreal museum of fine arts, montreal
now through october 20, 2013

electrified glass botanicals and vibrantly-hued transparent flora encompass american artist dale chihuly‘s exhibition ‘utterly breathtaking’ currently at montreal museum of fine arts. chihuly manifests his large-scale sculptures through the techniques and tools from the ancient art form of glass blowing, building on the artistry to create massive installations for the museum. visitors are immersed in the interactive experience chihuly lays out for the audience, walking amongst the labyrinth of glowing, colored creations.

the video below shows the artist and his team at work, exposing the craftsmanship and mastery involved in the fascinating ancient art craft of glass blowing: 

between the array of chromatic glass is ‘turquoise reeds’, which greets museum-goers at the top of the exhibit’s stairs. its long blue semi-translucent tubes extrude from an arrangement of natural driftwood, simulating a tall grassy meadow. continuing through the display, visitors find themselves concealed beneath ‘persian celing’, an elaborate arrangement of hundreds of colored glass flowers, mosaiced into the roof of the exhibition space. the garden environments’ fluid shapes and lines blown from glass demonstrate a contemporary approach to the highly specialized craft.

installation view
image courtesy of the montreal museum of fine arts

persian ceiling, 2008
4.5 x 8.5 m.
san francisco, de young museum
photo: teresa nouri rishel

persian colonnade (detail), 2008
4.5 x 15.2 m.
san francisco, de young museum
photo: terry rishel

glass forest no 5, 2012
2 x 8.5 x 4.9 m.
seattle, chihuly garden and glass
photo: scott m. leen

the sun, 2013
4.3 x 4.3 x 4.3 m.
the montreal museum of fine arts, lent from the artist
photo: annie-eve dumontier

the chihuly exhibition in montreal, installation view
image courtesy of the montreal museum of fine arts

mille fiori, 2012
3 x 17.7 x 3.7 m
seattle, chihuly garden and glass
photo: scott m. leen

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