Monday, December 10, 2012

Dale Chihuly at the VMFA

One of the exhibits I was excited to see at the VMFA was Chihuly. I've long been a fan of Dale Chihuly for the way his glassworks manipulate light, color, and space. 
 The exhibit is brilliantly lit against dark backgrounds; this really brings the colors to life!
  Looking closely at these spheres in the Ikebana piece shows the incredible detail in the glass.
His flowerlike Macchia bowls are always a hit. They look like enormous flowers!
I had never seen this exhibit simply entitled Reeds on Logs. The logs are salvaged western red cedar from his home state of Washington.
The blaze of color and shapes brought smiles to everyone's faces.
Many of the pieces have intricate parts, such as these sea creatures.
As you can see in the almost child-like, smiling faces above, this is art to be experienced and enjoyed.
 We all need to have a little fun sometimes!
See the exhibit at the VMFA thru Feb 10, 2013.

13 comments:

Woodside Park said...

Amazing! He is pure genius!! I can't wait to see this exhibit....probably in January.
Loi

Mark D. Ruffner said...

So tell me Stefan, were you like me and did you lie down on the floor of the room with the glass ceiling?

Incidentally, St. Petersburg, Florida has a permanent Chihuly exhibit!

Anonymous said...

Saw the Chihuly exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Garden several years ago and it was magical.
He is amazing.

Karena said...

Stefan I love, love Chihuly's fine art glass works. So intricate, detailed!

2012 Artists Series,
Karena
Art by Karena

Unknown said...

Ive got to get to Richmond and see it. He is one of my all time favorites! Thanks for sharing the magic!
Happy Holidays.
Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com

Thomas Hogglestock said...

I've seen a great documentary on his work as well as the installation at the Atlanta Botanic gardens and the giant chandelier at the V&A. So beautiful to see in person.

Mel said...

I saw this exhibit when it was at the MFA in Boston about a year and a half ago. I was particularly struck by how organic the works are and how they evoke movement in such a solid medium.

Ann said...

Very fun! Great photos, I've always enjoyed his work. I still remember the first piece of his I saw as a girl.

Kerry Steele- Design du Monde said...

I have to make time to go. It all looks so inspiring.

ArchitectDesign™ said...

Mark, No -i didn't lie on the floor -it was much too crowded, I would have been crushed!
I've seen Chihuly exhibits at the national Smithsonian garden/greenhouse as well as Phipps conservatory in Pittsburgh and everytime I'm just blown away (pun intended!)

Todd said...

These are really amazing installations! Not sure if you saw all of the Chihuly's at Atlantis when we were in Nassau during the cruise but there were close to a dozen of them and they were huge!

Suzanne said...

Such a great blog! Thanks for an excellent assessment of this dazzling exhibition. Did you hear that VMFA just rolled out an iOS app that simulates blowing glass?

Thanks for visiting!

Lord Cowell said...

I LOVE Chihuly. What an amazing exhibition. The colours in the photos are great. I think his chandeliers are the most amazing pieces of art.
David.