CHIHULY : New York Botanical Garden
(Book)

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Chihuly, organized by The New York Botanical Garden, April 22, 2017-October 29, 2017.

Dale Chihuly is known worldwide as one of the most daring and innovative artists of his time. For decades, he has expanded the possibilities of--and subverted expectations about--the medium of glass, the role of glass artists in the art world, and the range of venues in which their art can be shown. In 2017, The New York Botanical Garden hosted the first garden exhibition of Chihuly's work in New York in over a decade. Dramatic vistas throughout NYBG's magnificent grounds became living backdrops for works created specifically for the exhibition, showcasing Chihuly's signature organic shapes in brilliant, luminous colors. More than twenty installations transformed not just the verdant outdoor areas, fountains, and pools but also the lush, plant-filled galleries of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and the serene spaces of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, where smaller works and early drawings revealed the evolution of Chihuly's artistic practice over nearly half a century. This volume not only commemorates the exhibition but offers an invaluable overview of the artist's celebrated career, with a particular emphasis on his site-specific outdoor work, much of which was developed for garden settings. New and adapted texts offer perspectives on landmark works and formative moments in Chihuly's development as an artist, such as his radical 1975 collaboration with Seaver Leslie in upstate New York and his renowned 1996 installations in Venice, Italy, and discuss how they have informed his practice to the present. Generously illustrated with lavish views of the works in NYBG's galleries and landscape and with fascinating archival photographs, CHIHULY offers a new perspective on the artist's prolific career, combining the things he loves best--art and nature.