Join us for an afternoon of short films documenting a decade of Dale Chihuly’s personal odyssey. The films serve as an intimate guide of some of his most well-known projects, including “Chihuly Over Venice” and “Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem,” as well as some of his lesser-known work that will surprise even the most avid followers. From his glass hotshop and others in Finland, Ireland, Mexico, France, Murano and the Hebron, to exhibitions and installations in London, Chicago, and his home state of Washington, Chihuly’s passionate mission to explore and push beyond the boundaries of glass never falters.

The short films are being screened in celebration of the Ulysses Cylinders currently on display in The Community Library’s main foyer. The collection of twenty-two glass cylinders depict scenes from James Joyce’s Ulysses, and were a collaboration between Chihuly and artist Seaver Leslie. The cylinders have been shown only twice before — with their debut in Dublin (2014) and at the Vassar College Library in Poughkeepsie, New York (2015). Special thanks to the Chihuly Studio for the loan of this exhibition, which will be on display thru early January.

The short films average 6 minutes in length, and the entire collection (84 minutes) will be screened on a rolling basis over 3 hours. Please drop in to view one, two or many of these incredible short films.

We’ll also have Chihuly-inspired coloring in the back of the Lecture Room for artists of all ages!

Dale Chihuly (American, b. 1941) has spent his life on the move, seeking out innovation and inspiration. A native of Tacoma, Washington, Chihuly was first 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 more than a decade. 

In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art. His work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and twelve honorary doctorates. 

Chihuly has created more than a dozen well-known series of works, among them, Cylinders and Baskets in the 1970s; Seaforms, Macchia, Persians, and Venetians in the 1980s; Niijima Floats and Chandeliers in the 1990s; and Fiori in the 2000s. He is also celebrated for large architectural installations. In 1986, he was honored with a solo exhibition, Dale Chihuly objets de verre, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, in Paris. In 1995, he began Chihuly Over Venice, for which he created sculptures at glass factories in Finland, Ireland, and Mexico, then installed them over the canals and piazzas of Venice. In 1999, Chihuly started an ambitious exhibition, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem; more than 1 million visitors attended the Tower of David Museum to view his installations. In 2001, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London curated the exhibition Chihuly at the V&A. Chihuly’s lifelong fascination for glasshouses has grown into a series of exhibitions within botanical settings. The Garden Cycle began in 2001 at the Garfield Park Conservatory, in Chicago, and continued at several locations, among them the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London, in 2005, and the New York Botanical Garden, in the Bronx, in 2006 and again in 2017. Meanwhile, Chihuly has exhibited at other venues as well, including the de Young Museum in San Francisco, in 2008; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2011; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, in 2012; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, in 2013; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, in 2016; and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2017. In addition, Chihuly Garden and Glass, a major long-term exhibition, opened at Seattle Center in 2012.