Every other week we’ll be posting information about pieces in the Beach Museum’s permanent collection from …to build up a rich collection.. Selected works from The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
All pieces in this series are on display now at the museum. We hope you will join in the discussion and enjoy learning in-depth about the heart of the museum, our permanent collection. Beginning with one of the pieces that welcome you to the Beach Museum, Chandelier by Dale Chihuly. What does this piece make you wonder?
Dale Chihuly, born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, is considered on of the world’s foremost artists working in glass. Chihuly has become famous for liberating glassblowing from the confines of craft and placing it firmly in the sphere of fine art.1 In 1992 he made his first chandelier, which was created in conjunction with an exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum. At Seattle Chihuly become discontent with a vacant space within the exhibition. His solution was to create a hanging sculpture composed of a multitude of glass spheres. The main appeal of this first piece was not primarily derived from the simple shape of the individual components but from the grouping of these elements into a new structure.2The sheer size and volume of this first chandelier is only half of its attraction. The uniform and vibrant color makes the piece even more dramatic. This first chandelier led to a series of hanging pieces that are now considered among Chihuly’s signature forms.
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