Dale Chihuly over Venice Original Acrylic Drawing Contemporary Art Painting

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Chihuly over Venice
Medium: Acrylic on paper
Size: 42” x 30”
Inscription: Signed on bottom
Year: c. 1997, 1998
Condition: Very good condition overall, please request a condition report for full details
Documentation: Comes will gallery certificate of authenticity and a complete record of provenance

Chihuly over Venice was an ambitious international project done in 1995 and 1996. The artist, along with his team of glassblowers, visited glass factories in Finland, Ireland, Mexico, and Italy. While there, Chihuly collaborated with local masters to create various Chandeliers and installed them around Venice. Throughout the project, Chihuly explored new glasswork techniques and developed his innovative language. Chihuly created this painting to commemorate the project as a special event piece not intended for public release.

Chihuly's drawings are highly coveted by serious collectors as they provide unparalleled insight into his artistic process. Though primarily known for his asymmetrical and irregular vessels, his drawing and paintings are essential aspects of his practice. Chihuly initially used sketches to share his ideas with his glassblowing team after losing sight in his left eye. However, over the years, painting and drawing evolved from just being a communication tool but being another medium where he could explore light. Chihuly over Venice not only lays the groundwork for the glass structure itself, but also outlines the many unique facets of the large-scale glass installations for which Chihuly is famous.

Chihuly over Venice is signed on the bottom and includes a gallery certificate of authenticity. The artwork is in very good condition overall. Please request a condition report for full details.

About Dale Chihuly:

One of the most famous contemporary glass artists in the world, Dale Chihuly is best known for his monumental sculptures and installations. He is the name behind the spectacular ceiling at the Bellagio’s flower garden in Las Vegas and the creator of the Rotunda Chandelier at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Glass works of Dale Chihuly are considered some of the most desired collectibles between the decorative arts devotees today.

Despite his initial indifference towards education, Chihuly has spent a lot of time in school, obtaining both scientific and artistic degree in sculpture from prestigious graduate schools. He displayed a proclivity for interior design and craft early on, but his true passion was always in the glass. He was a Fulbright Fellow in the late 1960s and an apprentice at the Venini Glass Factory in Venice. Mastering the art of Murano glasswork, he continued the experiments with glassblowing and thus became one of the people who brought the ancient art of glassblowing back into the spotlight on an international scale.

Monumental and small-scale artwork of Dale Chihuly is present in over 200 most renowned decorative art collections today, while the artist holds twelve honorary doctorates!

The most illustrious series in his work are Cylinders and Baskets he created in the 1970s; Macchia, Venetians, and Persians from the 1980s, Niijima Floats and Chandeliers created in the 1990s; and a more recent one, Fiori from the 2000s.

For over 30 years, Dale Chihuly has been acting as an artistic director of his team of craftsmen, since he was incapacitated in two accidents, which left him blind in one eye and incapable of holding the blowing tube. This change allowed him to see the possibilities of glass work on a broader scale, while still maintaining his recognizable style.