Progressive Wednesday

Kiss his glass!

March 11th, 2007 by Matt

As we see it, part of our job at Progressive Wednesday is to point you, dear readers, toward art — be it visual, linguistic, or musical — that has impacted our lives in the hope that it might impact yours. As we’ve written before, we believe that art, more than any other human endeavor, can express and alter a society’s desires and intentions.

So, in that spirit, let me point you to one of my favorite contemporary artists, Dale Chihuly, a glass craftsman extraordinaire. I’ve seen his work in several of my favorite museums, including the Columbus Museum of Art and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, and I also got to see one of his installations at the Franklin Park Conservatory, where his glass sculptures were imbedded within the various plant exhibits. Some were even set afloat in a pool of koi.

His work is an explosion form, a chaos of color. To see it is to barely believe it. Many of the pieces are overwhelmingly gorgeous and enormous, something you wish your mind had concocted, imagination come to life. For a moment there I thought I was over-selling his art, but I’ve looked over some more photos of it, and I’m not.

But Chihuly isn’t solely responsible for his work. Glass-blowing on his scale necessarily requires a team of skilled artisans, and his even more so: Chihuly is blind in one eye and lacks depth perception. His singular vision (no pun, I swear it, intended) seems to be to create pure beauty. With these groups of artists, he’s able to make, not just small objects someone might keep their home, but glass sculptures and chandeliers that can exist in public spaces.

From his website, you can find travelling exhibitions near you, galleries selling his work (you can look and not buy, folks — just don’t break it, ok?), and museums that have his work as part of their permanent collections. Even if “art’s not your thing,” it’s worth it to find out if Chihuly’s glass is near you.

Koi photo c/o this anonymous picture clicker.

Chandelier photo c/o this killer photographer.

Both photos depict pieces I’ve seen.