Persian Chandeliers, Dale Chihuly, The New York Botanical Garden, 2006

If you were living New York City in 2006, you probably remember the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden. Enormously popular and well publicized, the show found the world-renowned artist’s colorful hand-blown glass sculptures tucked within plants, floating among the waterlilies, and hanging from the ceiling of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. In 2017, Chihuly’s artwork will once again be the focus of an exhibit at the Garden. Entitled Chihuly, the show, which runs April 22-October 28, 2017, promises a brand new experience and new site-specific installations.

For the new show, Chihuly’s organic shapes will again adorn the conservatory and courtyard pools, as well as the Lillian and Amy Goldman Fountain of Life, Leon Levy Visitor Center, Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum, and Native Plant Garden. Additionally, drawings illustrating the artist’s process will be on view in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s Art Gallery.

The show also comes with entertainment in the form of “Chihuly Nights”. On certain evenings, the Garden will stay open and host events featuring live performances, themed cocktails, shopping, and illuminated viewing the exhibit.

Chihuly was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941 and became interested in glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. In 1968, a Fulbright Scholarship landed him in Venice where he worked for the Venini glass factory. It was there that he learned many of the techniques he still employs today. Chihuly cofounded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State in 1971 and also established a glass program at Rhode Island School of Design.

His work has been shown at over 250 museums and gardens worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In 2012, Chihuly Garden and Glass opened in the Seattle Center. It features a permeant exhibit of his work.

For additional information about Chihuly, visit the New York Botanical Garden website. (UPDATE January 13, 2017, tickets are now on sale for the exhibit. To purchase, go here.)