Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Chihuly Glass from the Franklin Park Conservatory



Two dreamy chandelier like creations hang in the Palm House
The Franklin Park Conservatory owns a fantastic collection of Dale Chihuly's glasswork. When the exhibit first came to Columbus in 2003, I thought the museum was over hyping the installation, but after visiting the museum in 2004, I was impressed by the size and magnitude of his works. His glass was so popular at the conservatory, that in 2004, the friends group associated with the garden purchased all 3000 pieces of the exhibit to a tune of $7 million! We are fortunate to have such interesting artworks here in Columbus, many of which are inspired by forms in nature.


Megan and I in the Palm House of the Franklin Park Conservatory



The little bit of information that I have found about Chihuly is interesting- He's blind in one eye (as a result of an automobile accident in the 1970'), wears a patch, and he no longer has the depth perception needed to personally blow his own glass. Instead, he paints his visions, and his team of artisans go to work to produce these intricate assemblages. I have uploaded the first four images here in their original resolution- for those with either a high speed connection or a ton of patience, clicking on each image will link to the high-res versions.


Chihuly's works offer something new from every angle of observation.


Leaving the palm house and moving to the Orchid Forest, we saw this incredible piece. The twisting tubular glass reminds of me the elephant's head lousewort of the American west coast.

But perhaps my favorite installation of Chihuly's work at the Conservatory are these giant glass spheres that have been placed in the Koi pond. The color of each sphere is spectacular.



Chihuly's works have been installed in botanical gardens and conservatories across the nation. Visit www.chihuly.com for more information about this artist and his incredible pieces of glass.

14 comments:

  1. That is one heck of a glass construction! Thanks for sharing it!

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  2. Lana...reload to see if you get the new pictures!

    Tom

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  3. I love Chihuly's work. I've seen it in the London Kew gardens and in Pittsburgh @ Phipps conservatory.

    BTW: It is Dale Chihuly, not Dave.

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  4. Looks like some very cool stuff! Thanks for sharing these great photos with us!

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  5. WOW what a treat! Chihuly's work is just beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Lovley glasswork!
    Good pictures!

    Thanks for sharing, Tom.

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  7. Lovley glasswork and good pictures!

    Thanks for sharing, Tom..

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  8. Tom, these are cool, I saw something similar in Singapore museum of art, only fishes. In Toronto Airport we got some glass human's floating around. However the spheres, looked familiar, check this out: http://myonlyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/07/wonders-of-sphere.html

    Anna :)

    PS Great photo set.

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  9. Monarch- Thanks Tom, these glass pieces are an interesting marriage of nature and art. I'm glad you enjoyed them.

    Chris- You are welcome, he certainly produces some incredible pieces.

    Miqe- Thank you!

    Anna- It looks like the link got cut off but I'll try to search your blog to see what I can find!

    Thanks everyone!

    Tom

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  10. Great photos - a conservatory and Chihuly, two great tastes together at last! The biggest Chihuly I've seen is the ceiling at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas - it's pretty impressive too!

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  11. Chihuly is one of my favorite glass artist. I love how he assembles glass to make unique and organic forms that are inspired by nature. One of the other things I have noticed was that it is really important to Chihuly where and how his pieces are displayed.
    I also really like the picture with the blown bubbles floating in the water, it is one of the pieces I admire the most. It reminds me of the "float boat" he created.

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  12. Thanks Abby- Chihuly is really the only glass artist that I know about- we are quite lucky to have several fascinating pieces of his work right here in Columbus. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave such a nice comment.

    Tom

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