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Enhancing the world with glass

Green scene

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Chihuly fever is here and I have a bad case. For those not yet in the know, Dale Chihuly is one of today’s premier glass artists respected worldwide. Although the exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden will not open until April 22, this show has been under development for three years. The theme is the connection and interplay of art, culture and nature as engines for economic development and research, as well as the impetus for the exploration of human imagination and potential.

Recently, Bank of America—sponsor of this long awaited show—along with Grand Hyatt New York, also a sponsor of Chihuly, hosted a luncheon where donors, media, administrators of NYBG and members of the Chihuly staff all met in their elegant Manhattan Ballroom—itself a study of grays highlighting basket weave designs—to  learn the details behind this upcoming extravaganza. Other major donors include Mastercard, Celebrity Cruises, Bloomberg Philanthropies through its Bloomberg Connects—more later—program, LuEsther T. Mertz  Foundation—patron of the NYBG library—Gillian and Robert Steel, and Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.

I have never thought of myself as a groupie but I admit to a deep fascination with art glass and its creators. Over the years, if there was a Chihuly exhibit anywhere in my neighborhood, I was there. We were in Israel in the summer of 1999 and were delighted to discover that a Chihuly exhibit was being installed at the Tower of David—a medieval fortress located in Jerusalem near the Jaffa Gate. The highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem winds steadily higher as it nears its destination and lamp posts along the last few miles were lined with fluttering pennants announcing the coming Chihuly exhibit. When we finally visited ourselves, we spent hours exclaiming over the different pieces that were specifically designed for each individual setting. Eventually, over a million visitors saw that show which lasted a total of four months.

At the luncheon we heard from several speakers. Leslie Jackson Chihuly is Dale Chihuly’s wife and the CEO of the Chihuly Studio managing the business aspect of his art. She is a dynamic and charming speaker who shared with us vignettes about his artistic development. Chihuly—whose name reflects his paternal family’s origins in Czechoslovakia while his mother’s family came from Norway—began his academic life studying architecture. Later, he became interested in weaving and was already  showing interest in glass by incorporating molten glass blobs into his pieces. Eventually, he focused on glass working and after completing his formal studies took a Fullbright to the Venini Works in Moreno, Italy where he learned the team approach to glass working. Without this method, producing the large, complex works he is known for would have been impossible.

Britt Cornett, the head of exhibitions and installations for Chihuly, spoke about details of the exhibit. Chihuly came to NYBG in 2015 to scout the various locations suitable for the various installations. Four general areas have been chosen for approximately twenty glass installations, all but one of which—the Blue Herons from the 2006 show at NYBG—have been designed and produced specifically for the 2017 show. Sometime this March eight tractors—each 53 feet long—will make their way from Seattle, Washington to the Bronx. They will be followed by 17 installers who will unpack and mount the pieces. In addition to the glass pieces, there will also be an exhibit at the LuEsther T. Mertz Gallery of Chihuly’s works on paper showing his development of concepts that were created in glass but needed to be conceptualized on paper first. Elsewhere in the library building there will be a series of basket-inspired glass vessels that are based on ancient Amerindian pieces  that have slumped over the centuries.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share two other important bits of information. First, Bloomberg Philanthropies has already developed Bloomberg Connects—effectively an app that shares information about the objects visitors will see as well as material about the creators of the pieces as they move from installation to installation. Bloomberg Connects  has already created  such apps for 16 other cultural institutions including the American Museum of American History,  the Art Institute of Chicago and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. 

Second, in order to spread the word about the show, NYBG is sponsoring a contest which includes a weekend for two at the Grand Hyatt on the opening weekend and various prizes connected to the show. Rules can be found at nybg.org/chihulyinspires.

This show should not be missed. I hope to see you all there!

Sura Jeselsohn  lives in Riverdale. Point of View is a column open to all.

green scene, Sura Jeselsohn

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