Dale Chihuly

Washington State–native Dale Chihuly (1941– ) has been a dominant force in contemporary studio glass as both an artist and an educator. Chihuly first encountered glass as an undergraduate at the University of Washington, Seattle (BA, 1965), where he studied interior design. He pursued graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying glass under Harvey Littleton, and at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he received an MFA in ceramics in 1968. A Fulbright scholarship took Chihuly to Venice, Italy, where he worked at the Venini glass factory on Murano. Upon his return to the United States, Chihuly founded the glass program at RISD, where he taught from 1969 to 1980. In 1971, he cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. Chihuly is known worldwide for his glass objects as well as for his highly visible, large-scale installations and outdoor projects.

Works

Cadmium Yellow-Orange Venetian, 1990. Made with the assistance of Richard Royal and Lino Tagliapietra. Overall H: 49 cm, W: 36.2 cm, D: 41.7 cm. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. Gift with funds from Mr. and Mrs. James R. Houghton. (90.4.129).

Erbium Chandelier with Gilded Putto, 1993. Made with the assistance of Lino Tagliapietra, Josiah McElheny and Bryan Rubino. Overall H: 92 cm, Diam (max): 122 cm. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. Gift of Bullseye Glass Company (2008.4.2).

Gray Blue and Lavender Persian Set with Red Lip Wraps, 1988. Made with the assistance of Martin Blank. (a) overall H: 40 cm, W: 55.7 cm, D: 36.9 cm. (b) overall H: 11.8 cm, W: 32.7 cm, D: 30.7 cm. (c) overall H: 22.8 cm, W: 11.7 cm, D: 7.1 cm. (d) overall H: 20.7 cm, Diam: 6.7 cm. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. Gift of the Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family (2007.4.149).

Paul Hollister narrates a 1983 Chihuly Macchia demonstration at NYEGW.

Playing02:37 Transcript
Paul Hollister

Paul Hollister narrates a 1983 Chihuly Macchia demonstration at NYEGW. Interview with Dale Chihuly and team by Paul Hollister, March 20 and 21, 1983. (Rakow Title: Dale Chihuly interview [sound recording] / with Paul M. Hollister). Clip length: 01:59.

Paul Hollister (PH): [PH talks into the recorder] One guy’s rotating a blowpipe. One guy’s using the jacks. Another guy is using a stick, to—shield the heat—from the guy, Bill [William] Morris, who’s using the jacks. He’s going back into the furnace now. The thing’s about 15 inches long. It’s covered with glass, completely covered first with a sieve that sprinkled it all on the powder and then later picking up on the marver. And then threaded over that, and then put in the dip mold. And now the thing is the size of a—at least the size of a football. And there’s one guy using two paddles, while the other fellow uses the jacks and Morris rotates the thing on the blowpipe. Keep the heat away from the man using the jacks. [pause for 5 seconds] Yes, it’s exactly the size of a football now, with a little knob on the end.

[tape cuts out and back in, lots of background noise with people talking, working, and music playing.]

This by the way is March 20th, and I’m at the [New York] Experimental Glass Workshop, 142 Mulberry [New York, New York]. It’s shaped pretty much like a dirigible now. Morris is using the jacks to knock in. You can hear him knocking in the knob on the end and using the pad to shape it, to smooth it out toward the end while the other guy is [laughs] blowing as the blowpipe rotates and man number three, wearing a black beret, is using a paddle to shield him. It’s pretty big now. It’s almost the size of a basketball now; it’s certainly the size of a soccer ball.

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Bibliography

Writings by Paul Hollister Bibliography
 

“Chihuly Glass Show Features Sea Forms.” New York Times, April 2, 1981, C8.

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