Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Violet Basket 3 Piece Set
Medium: Hand Blown Glass
Year: 2010
Large Basket: 9.75" x 9.75" x 9.75"
Medium Basket: 4.25" x 4.75" x 4.5"
Small Basket: 3.25" x 4.75" x 4.75"
Signed: Inscribed "PP10"
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity
Dale Chihuly's "Violet Basket" 3 Piece Set is a refined example from the artist's ongoing Baskets series, which explores the expressive possibilities of asymmetry, transparency, and organic form in blown glass. Created in 2010, this hand-blown glass set consists of three vessels that nest together, each varying in scale yet unified through color and form. The largest basket measures 9.75" x 9.75" x 9.75", the medium basket 4.25" x 4.75" x 4.5", and the smallest basket 3.25" x 4.75" x 4.75". The smallest piece is inscribed “PP10", identifying it as part of the Portland Press edition from that year.
Chihuly first began developing the Baskets series in the 1970s, drawing inspiration from the slumped shapes of traditional Native American woven baskets from the Pacific Northwest. By manipulating molten glass with heat, gravity, and centrifugal force, Chihuly achieved softened, fluid forms that challenged conventional expectations of blown glass as symmetrical and rigid.
The "Violet Basket" 3 Piece Set reflects Chihuly's interest in the interplay between delicacy and presence. Its luminous violet surface, complemented by subtle variation in contour, emphasizes the organic qualities of the series. As the baskets nest within one another, they create layered transparencies and shifting perspectives, underscoring the artist's exploration of space, color, and form.
Accompanied by a Gallery Certificate of Authenticity, this work represents both Chihuly's technical innovation and his continuing pursuit of naturalism and spontaneity in glass.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) is an American artist celebrated for transforming glass into a large-scale medium for contemporary art. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he has redefined the possibilities of glassblowing through his innovative techniques, monumental installations, and distinctive approach to color and form. Today, Dale Chihuly glass art is recognized worldwide for its technical mastery and visual impact, appearing in major museums, architectural spaces, and botanical gardens.
Born in Tacoma, Washington, Chihuly first studied interior design before turning to glass. He enrolled in the University of Wisconsin–Madison, home to the first glass program in the United States, and later studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). In 1968, a Fulbright Fellowship took him to the Venini Glass Factory in Murano, Italy, where he observed the collaborative process of glassblowing—a model he would adopt in his own work. Chihuly later co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington in 1971, which became a leading institution for glass education.
Chihuly's major series showcase his wide-ranging experimentation with form and color. His Baskets reimagined Native American woven vessels as fluid, slumped glass; Seaforms echoed the movement of ocean life; and the Macchia series exploded with painterly color contrasts. Other signature series, including Persians, Chandeliers, and Ikebana, demonstrate his ability to create sculptural environments that blur the line between object and installation. His Dale Chihuly chandeliers, composed of hundreds of hand-blown elements, transform architectural spaces into immersive experiences of light and color.
Equally significant are his large-scale Dale Chihuly exhibitions, staged at institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the de Young Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as well as in public gardens worldwide. These installations highlight the artist's dialogue between nature, architecture, and art. In Seattle, the permanent Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibition, opened in 2012, presents an expansive view of his career.
In addition to glass, Chihuly produces paintings and works on paper, which often serve as studies for his glass projects but are also recognized as independent artworks. Despite physical challenges, including vision loss in one eye and a shoulder injury, he has continued to create through collaborative teams, a hallmark of his practice.
Through his bold experimentation and innovative vision, Dale Chihuly has secured his place as one of the most influential artists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. His work bridges craft, fine art, and design, leaving a lasting imprint on the history of glass and contemporary art.
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