Dale Chihuly at the Reading Public Museum: A Celebration in Glass

On May 23, 2004, the Reading Public Museum will unveil the largest exhibition ever mounted in Pennsylvania of renowned artist Dale Chihuly who stated “I am truly honored to exhibit my artwork at the Reading Public Museum on the occasion of their 100 year anniversary.” The Museum is just as excited to present this exhibition to the community. Ron Roth, Director and CEO of the Museum comments, “Dale Chihuly has transformed the art of glassmaking, and is one of the most influential artists of our time. His legendary installations in Venice, Jerusalem and throughout the United States have brought new audiences to contemporary art. We are thrilled to have this exhibition for our 100th anniversary year.”

Dale Chihuly at the Reading Public Museum: A Celebration in Glass is sponsored by Marlin and Ginger Miller, Vicki and Bill Combs, EnerSys, FirstEnergy Foundation, The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and in part by grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Regular Museum admission is $7 adults and $5 children 4 to 17. Museum hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11am to 5pm, Wednesday 11am to 8pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm. The Museum is closed on Mondays.

Dale Chihuly was born in 1941 in Tacoma, WA and now lives and works in Seattle. He was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington where he began weaving glass into some of his tapestries. During this time, he began to see new possibilities in the medium and decided to pursue graduate study at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design where he later initiated a glass program which earned international acclaim. He remained there for 11 years, all the while bringing glass into the mainstream of contemporary art through his own work. In 1971, with a $2,000 grant, he co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School outside of Seattle – an experiment in alternative, democratic learning. What was supposed to last the summer turned into the largest, most comprehensive educational center in the world for artists working in glass.

Chihuly’s first endeavors took off in directions radically different from the craft orientation of earlier American glass or from the traditional foundations of European glass. He became actively involved in formal and material experimentation. Later, his interest turned toward the glass object as a unique form, envisioning it as an element integrated into its environment. Chihuly’s work came off the pedestal, out of the display case, onto the wall, and into architectural space.

His works continue to reflect constant experimentation with much of his artwork created in series. He is especially celebrated for his grand sculptures such as his Chandeliers that were suspended over the canals and piazzas of Venice in 1996 as part of Chihuly Over Venice a major international project. One of his Chandeliers, Yellow Hornet with Cobalt Blue Ikebana will be on display in the American Gallery. Other international projects include Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000 at the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem (2000) where more than one million visitors viewed his installations, Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass at Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory (2001-2), the Chihuly Bridge of Glass in Tacoma (2002), and Mille Fiori at the Tacoma Art Museum (2003). These installations confirm the artist’s sensitivity to architectural context and his interest in the interplay of natural light on the glass that exploits its translucency and transparency.

Chihuly’s work is included in more than 200 museums and public collections around the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, Paris; the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY.

Included in Dale Chihuly at the Reading Public Museum: A Celebration in Glass will be a Tower in the Atrium of the Museum, a Persian Wall, a Drawing Wall, a Chandelier and artworks from the Seaform, Ikebana, Basket, Macchia and Persian series.

Related Events for Dale Chihuly at the Reading Public Museum: A Celebration in Glass:

Friday, May 21 – 9am to 4pm
Saturday, May 22 – 10am to 4pm
Sunday, May 23 – 10am to 4pm
“Who Are You?” - A Public Art Collaborative Structure with guest sculptor Mark Kobasz on the Museum grounds. Join Mark as he assembles a framework structure that will represent our community using anything made of glass such as windows, doors, mirrors, glass bowls, cups, etc. Visitors can bring something glass—be creative— or draw images, symbols or write prose or poetry on the glass. Come and participate or just observe this unique collaborative event with the Berks Arts Council. Free.

Sunday, May 30 – 1:30pm
Chihuly Over Venice Documentary
Shown on PBS Station WHYY (1 hour)

Every Weekend in June – Saturday & Sunday Noon to 4pm
Glass Hot Shop with artist Will Dexter and the Taylor Backes Team. Come watch glass blowing demos in this Glass Hot Shop, set up in the Museum’s Greenhouse. Free with admission. Sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

MUSEUM SHOP at the Reading Public Museum
Many Chihuly items will be for sale at the MUSEUM SHOP during the exhibit including books, posters, videos and stationery. Studio Edition pieces signed by Chihuly will also be available.