Dale Chihuly Original Paris Blue Basket Set Contemporary Glass Art

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Paris Blue Basket
Medium: Hand Blown Glass
Large Basket: 9” x 9" x 8"
Small Basket: 1 3/4" x 3 1/4" x 3 1/4"
Year: 2001
Signed: Inscribed by Artist
Condition: Very good condition overall, please request a full report for condition details
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

Native American art has been one of Dale Chihuly’s greatest inspirations since the beginning. More than one long-lived series of glasswork was created after Northwest Coast indigenous traditions, “Baskets” probably being the most famous among them. Soft, slumpy basket forms fascinated Chihuly, as he tried to capture the feeling of relaxed material in the more rigid glass.

A study in form and material, baskets started in the 1970s and continued to develop until the 2000s. He used heat, gravity, centrifugal force, and traditional glassblowing techniques to create innovative, asymmetrical forms. “Baskets” helped Chihuly set the course for his artistic language and launched him as the greatest glass artist in the US today.

“Paris Blue Basket” is a two piece basket set finished with a deep yellow lip wrap is a wonderful collectible from the “Basket” body of work. It’s an elaboration on simple forms and an ethereal nuance, opacity and refinement of glass. An exquisite addition to any Chihuly collection, the work belongs to a sold-out 2001 Portland Press edition. This piece is signed by the artist and includes a gallery certificate of authenticity.

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. Glassworks 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 degrees 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 glasswork on a much broader scale, while still maintaining his recognizable style.