Chihuly at the Frist May 9, 2010–January 2, 2011
There are few contemporary artists whose name is as synonymous with the medium in which he works as Dale Chihuly, who is widely regarded as the most innovative glass artist working today. Active since the 1960s, Chihuly is credited with almost single handedly elevating the postwar American studio glass movement to the international prominence it now enjoys.
Chihuly at the Frist will showcase the unsurpassed mastery of the artist and his Seattle glass-studio collaborators in nine installations drawn from some of Chihuly’s most acclaimed series, designed specifically for the Frist Center's galleries.
Among the featured series are Venetians, a brilliantly colored and intricately formed group of works that was inspired in 1988 by a famed Italian glass master; Ikebana, which was informed by the Japanese art of flower arranging; Persians, conjuring the exotic and enchanted lands of the Far East; Macchia, borne of Chihuly’s desire to use hundreds of colors in rippling forms based on vases created in the famed Venini glass factory in Venice; and Seaforms, which celebrates the waving and rippling shapes and rhythms of underwater life. In addition, the exhibition will include a spectacular Mille Fiori (a thousand flowers) garden and the Sea Blue and Green Tower, a mammoth sculpture that masses colorful, curving forms in a large-scale work that rises nearly ten feet tall and occupies an entire gallery.
Also on exhibition will be a wall of Chihuly’s drawings that serve as independent works of art and “blueprints” to communicate and inspire his glassblowers to bring his designs to life and to improvise on the themes he has created.
The acclaimed documentary Chihuly in the Hotshop will be on continuous view throughout the exhibition. Directed by Peter West, the film follows the artist in 2006, as he worked in the Museum of Glass’s hotshop in Tacoma, Wash., an amphitheatre designed specifically to allow the public to view artists at work. The film received its premiere at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
See Nashville Arts Magazine's exclusive interview with Dale Chihuly.
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Frist Center, Cheekwood and Nashville Symphony Collaborate In addition to the Frist Center, Dale Chihuly’s work also will be seen at the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art and at performances of the Nashville Symphony. In an unprecedented collaboration, the three institutions are joining forces to cross-promote and offer reciprocal discounts to their members and subscribers.
• Nashville Symphony Performs Bluebeard’s Castle
May 20–22, 2010, the Nashville Symphony will perform Bartók’s early masterpiece, Bluebeard’s Castle, against a spectacular set created by Dale Chihuly. Six individual 14-foot glass sculptures, which represent castle doors, will be revealed during the course of the performance. The composition recounts the classic fairy tale about a bloodthirsty nobleman and his castle of horrors. As his young bride walks through the doors of the castle, Bartók’s music builds in dramatic intensity, leading to a chilling conclusion. (www.nashvillesymphony.org)
• Chihuly at Cheekwood May 25-October 31, 2010
Don't miss Chihuly at Cheekwood which includes dramatic works on view inside the house and installed amid the spectacular natural landscapes of Cheekwood’s beautiful gardens. The exhibition will also feature a giant garden of glass (Mille Fiori), and a 30-foot neon sculpture, the Saffron Tower, as well as works tucked into groves and floating in the beautiful ponds. Chihuly at Cheekwood will be on view at Cheekwood through Oct. 31, 2010. Chihuly at Cheekwood is a celebration of Cheekwood’s fiftieth Anniversary (www.cheekwood.org)
For more information about all the Chihuly events in Nashville, visit ChihulyinNashville.com.
Frist Center Members can call a Member Reservation line at 615-744-3248 to reserve advance tickets to this exhibition.
Vacation Packages and Exclusive Ticket Offer for Chihuly Exhibits The Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau (NCVB) is offering an exclusive combo ticket which will allow admission to both the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art for only $20, a $5 savings from buying the tickets separately, from now until October 31. Click here to purchase your combo ticket. This ticket is not recommended for children as admission is always free at the Frist Center for children 18 and younger.
Chihuly vacation packages are also available through the Nashville CVB which include the Frist/Cheekwood combo ticket and hotel stay at your choice of area hotels.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly was born in Tacoma, Washington and first blew glass in 1965, but his calling was confirmed in 1968, when he traveled to the island of Murano in Venice and absorbed the secrets of traditional glass blowing. As a professor (1969-1980) at the Rhode Island School of Design, and as a co-founder of the Pilchuck Glass School near Stanwood, Wash., Chihuly helped introduce the European studio (team) model of glass blowing to the studio glass movement in the United States. He served as artistic director at Pilchuck until 1989, and under his guidance, it became a gathering place for artists from all over the world.
While Chihuly has been a significant innovator of form and color, his greatest contribution to the discipline has been to emphasize the natural forces of heat, gravity and centrifugal force in the creation of glass.
In his art, Dale Chihuly walks a fine line between conscious intention and chance occurrence. While much of his work is inspired by the natural world, Chihuly seeks to emulate the process of nature, rather than nature, itself.
Over more than four decades, Chihuly’s art has explored line, color, form and technique with works ranging from indoor and outdoor, site-specific installations, like those at the Frist Center and Cheekwood, to single, table-top vessels. The vision, ambition and scale of his pioneering works revolutionized the studio glass movement and helped demolish barriers that had previously prevented glass objects from being viewed as a serious art form.
This exhibition is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in cooperation with Dale Chihuly. The work displayed is protected by copyright and any copying is expressly prohibited.
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conjuring the exotic and enchanted lands of the Far East; Macchia, borne of Chihuly’s desire to use hundreds of colors in rippling forms based on vases created in the famed Venini glass factory in Venice; and Seaforms, which celebrates the waving and rippling shapes and rhythms of underwater life. In addition, the exhibition will include a spectacular Mille Fiori (a thousand flowers) garden and the Sea Blue and Green Tower, a mammoth sculpture that masses colorful, curving forms in a large-scale work that rises nearly ten feet tall and occupies an entire gallery.
Frist Center, Cheekwood and Nashville Symphony Collaborate
tucked into groves and floating in the beautiful ponds. Chihuly at Cheekwood will be on view at Cheekwood through Oct. 31, 2010. Chihuly at Cheekwood is a celebration of Cheekwood’s fiftieth Anniversary (
