Chihuly Exhibit

Jordan and I really like seeing blown glass. We have visited glass blowing facilities a couple of different times, and we loved seeing the demonstrations. Also, earlier this summer, we had a good time talking about blown glass in an art gallery in Hot Springs, AR. That is where we first heard of Dale Chihuly. He is a world-renowned glass blower, and he has made his mark in the art of glass blowing.

As I researched what to do in Boston, (since Jordan and I went there so he could attend the AANA convention), I found out that the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston had an exhibit of Chihuly's work. I was super excited! Then I found out that we would be there for the LAST two days of the exhibit, so I made sure to try to go as soon as we could. Well, our first attempt was a failure. We got there in the afternoon, and the line to get in was outside and very long. Upon further investigation, I found out the Chihuly exhibit was all sold out for the day. So we went to plan B. The next morning, Jordan had something at the convention he had to go to, so he couldn't come with me. But I went with Kelly, and we got there half an hour before the museum opened. Even though it was raining a little bit, the wait really wasn't very bad. We were able to get in and go straight to the Chihuly exhibit. (On our way out of the museum around lunch time, we saw the line for that exhibit; the line wrapped around and around inside the museum. I'm soooo glad we didn't have to wait in that line all day!)


Because Jordan wasn't able to come too, I decided to take lots of pictures. Here they are!


This was in a lobby/restaurant area of the museum. I saw a donation box nearby with a sign saying something like, "Help us buy the green icicles display." It filled the vertical space very well!

These were on the way down to the special exhibit area.


I love this boat full of glass! It was quite stunning - as it was the only object on display in the room.

Next we saw some vases.



And then we came to a room with some of Chihuly's native American pieces. (You can see that it was incredibly crowded! Note to self: Don't see an exhibit during the last few days it's on display at any location. Go earlier if at all possible!!)



Here's Kelly!

Then we came to a long, narrow room that was filled with this:

I think it was called "One Thousand Flowers," but it was in a different language.



This was at the end of the thousand flowers. It was amazing!

Next, we came to a room where the ceiling was filled with blown glass.

I had fun looking at the small pieces of glass and seeing how Chihuly layered them in the ceiling to create depth and a bigger picture.





I took this picture for Claire, since she can recognize stars!




Then we came to a room full of spectacular chandeliers.

(I must admit - I thought of Seven Lakes when I saw this blue and orange one).


The difference a flash can make. With:

And without: (I like the pictures without a flash so much better!)




The last room had these long purple pieces. I remember reading that Chihuly was in another country, (Finland, I think), and the building where he was working had exceptionally tall ceilings, so he was able to make these structures. They really are very tall!

I was surprised when I rounded the corner from this room and realized that I had already seen the entire exhibit, but I really, really enjoyed seeing it all. I'm so glad it worked out for Kelly and me to see Chihuly's work. I definitely recommend it!