From 8 December, the Groninger Museum will present Chihuly, an exhibition of sensational creations by world-renowned American glass artist Dale Chihuly. This examination of light, space and form will delight the whole family. “I want people to be overwhelmed with light and colour in a way that they’ve never experienced," Chihuly said.
The exhibition is specially curated for the museum, in partnership with Chihuly Studio, and will be the largest European museum showing of the artist’s work in the last 20 years. Comprising 16 installations inside and outside the building, Chihuly will provide a comprehensive overview of the artist’s body of work.
Dale Chihuly (b. 1941, Tacoma, Washington) is known for revolutionizing the studio glass movement and elevating perceptions of glass. Over his 50-year career, he has become known for his iconic glass sculptures, but glass is just one of the media he employs to realise his vision; he also draws and paints, and has created large-scale installations with materials including neon, ice, and Polyvitro – a plastic material which Chihuly casts into individual pieces which resemble glass crystals.
Chihuly is renowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world, in historic cities, museums and gardens. His work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. Major exhibitions include Chihuly Over Venice (1995–96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), and shows at the de Young Museum in San Francisco (2008); the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011); the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (2012); the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (2013); the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto (2016); and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (2017) Chihuly Garden and Glass opened at the Seattle Center in 2012.
Chihuly will be on view at the Groninger Museum from 8 December 2018 through 5 May 2019. The show will be suitable for the whole family, with free admission for those 18 and under. Visitors are advised to buy tickets in advance from tickets.groningermuseum.nl to ensure admission on the chosen day and receive a discount.