Jackson, WY - Highly anticipated new works of artist Dale Chihuly are currently on display at the Tayloe Piggott Gallery. Chihuly is recognized as a visionary glass blower and creator of innovative glass installations and smaller works, including the Baskets, Persians and Seaforms series. His progressive, collaborative design methods and the resulting works have transformed Chihuly into a catalyst in establishing blown glass as both an accepted medium for installation art and contemporary expression in late twentieth and twenty©\first century art.
On display at the gallery are examples from his new Silvered Blanket Cylinders and Clear Soft Cylinders, which are reminiscent of his early-career pieces. In the late 1970's, inspired by Northwest Coast Indian baskets, Chihuly created a series of small glass baskets, which were followed by larger glass cylinders. While the baskets were soft and organic in form, his cylinders were adorned with more literal pictures and western motifs. Now in 2011, Chihuly has reinvented this series with new energy in shape, color, size and design. The pieces are filled with light and a sophistication that captivate viewers. Masterful in both design and execution, the clear glass forms suspend brightly hued patterns that play with positive and negative space. Reflective silvered interiors capture light and shadow while perfectly contrasting the modern design and bold colors of the exterior. These pieces are a true demonstration of his understanding of glass as an artistic medium.
Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for over a decade. In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington. Chihuly's work is included in over two hundred museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including eight honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Most recently, Chihuly¡¯s Garden Cycle began in 2001 at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago and then went to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London, in 2005. Other major exhibition venues include the de Young Museum in San Francisco, in 2008, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2011.
For more information about the current show, please contact the gallery at 307-733-0555 or art@tayloepiggottgallery.com.