Born September 20, 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was to become one of the worlds most innovative and respected creators of glass art. He obtained degrees in Interior Design/Architecture, Glass, Ceramics, and Sculpture and has spent a large part of his life traveling the world. He has been drawn to places like Venice and Florence, Italy, the Middle East, Ireland and just about anywhere else he could go to study and meet others in the art world, many of which would become friends, mentors, or students.
Throughout his extensive career Chihuly has been a professor in universities, written many essays, experimented with neon and argon gas, has had countless museum exhibits, designed for royalty, and the list goes on an on. What he is most widely recognized for and which has taken the world of glass blowing to a new plateau are his Installations, enormous undertakings which have appeared all over the world. Practically anyone who has visited Las Vegas, Nevada and has entered the lobby of the Bellagio Resort has seen Chihuly's colorful work on its ceiling.
In 2000 he created the Light of Jerusalem, a daunting endevour including his Crystal Mountain construsted from some several thousand individual pieces of a glass composit that he had engineered. The design was stretegically thought out and placed so that it would best catch the morning sun. The Blue and White Tower was spectacular by day but awe inspiring when lit at night. As is so Dale Chihuly to dream, what of ice...in the desert? He had tons of ice blocks cut from Alaskan glaciers and shipped to Jerusalem to build his Wall of Ice to see how long it would take to melt and how it would change along the way. And we must not over look one of his signature Chandelier. Chihuly loves to interact and share with people and how better? Any direction one looks there are glass forms of different shapes sizes and colors seemingly growing from their surroundings. His works are not seen, they are experienced.
Though there have been many many others Chihuly Over Venice was one undertaking that took on hundreds of artisans from five different countries, all with a history of glass making. When Chihuly does something he does it grande.