Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Marigold Rose Seaform Pair
Medium: Hand Blown Glass
Large Element: 7.5" x 21.5" x 20"
Small Element: 7.25" x 13" x 11.5"
Inscription: Signed and dated on underside of large element
Year: 1984
Documentation: Includes gallery certificate of authenticity
Created in 1984, "Marigold Rose Seaform Pair" is a luminous and fluid example of Dale Chihuly's early exploration into the expressive potential of hand-blown glass. Part of his formative Seaforms series, this two-piece composition captures the artist's fascination with the natural world—particularly the rhythms and forms of undersea life.
The pair's graceful, undulating silhouettes reflect Chihuly's innovative approach to shaping molten glass using gravity, breath, and centrifugal force. Rather than force the material into rigid symmetry, Chihuly allowed it to settle and fold organically, resulting in sculptural forms that seem to ripple and breathe. At 20 inches across, the larger element is remarkable not only for its size—especially notable for an early work—but for the effortless sense of motion it conveys. The gently flared edges and soft, shell-like contours evoke the fragility and beauty of marine flora, while the smaller form nestles alongside, reinforcing the dialogue between the two shapes.
The piece is visually anchored by a vibrant palette of marigold, rose pink, golden yellow, and hints of orange, with subtle ribbons of forest green drifting across the surface. These colors, layered through expert glassblowing techniques, shimmer beneath the light, creating a glowing effect that changes with every angle. The transparency and iridescence of the glass amplify this interplay, giving the impression of depth and continuous transformation.
Signed and dated by the artist and accompanied by a gallery certificate of authenticity, "Marigold Rose Seaform Pair" represents a significant moment in Chihuly's career. It captures the emergence of the organic, gravity-driven style that would come to define his work and reflects his early mastery of scale, form, and color.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is a pioneering American artist whose radical innovations in glass sculpture have redefined the medium and expanded the boundaries of contemporary art. Over the course of five decades, he has transformed glass from a craft material into a vehicle for monumental expression, creating immersive environments that evoke the beauty, chaos, and rhythm of the natural world.
Born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941, Chihuly first encountered glassblowing while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After earning a Fulbright Fellowship in 1968, he studied at the prestigious Venini glass factory in Murano, Italy—an experience that profoundly shaped his understanding of form, technique, and tradition. Returning to the U.S., he co-founded the influential Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington in 1971, helping to establish the Pacific Northwest as a major hub of glass innovation.
Chihuly's artistic vision broke from the constraints of functional glassmaking. Inspired by organic forms—sea creatures, flowers, and flowing water—his sculptures grew increasingly complex and expressive. He pioneered the use of team-based glassblowing, rejecting the solitary model of the traditional artisan in favor of a collaborative studio approach that allowed for ever-larger and more ambitious works. Even after a 1976 car accident left him blind in one eye, and a subsequent injury to his shoulder prevented him from blowing glass himself, Chihuly continued to direct the creation of his pieces with an artist's eye and conductor's precision.
One of Chihuly's most distinctive innovations is his concept of “environments"—immersive installations composed of hundreds or thousands of glass elements. His “Macchia" series exploded with vibrant colors and spotted surfaces; the “Persians" and “Seaforms" twisted into otherworldly botanical shapes; and his “Chandeliers"—a signature body of work—defied gravity with their towering, tangled masses of colored glass. These installations have been shown in iconic settings across the world, from the canals of Venice to the conservatories of Kew Gardens and the ceilings of the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Beyond the technical brilliance of his work, Chihuly's impact lies in his ability to elevate glass to the realm of fine art. His exhibitions draw record-breaking crowds, and his works are held in over 200 museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Corning Museum of Glass. In 2002, the opening of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass in Tacoma cemented his legacy in his hometown. A decade later, Chihuly Garden and Glass, a permanent exhibition space at the Seattle Center, became a vibrant testament to his life's work and a global destination for fans of his art.
Chihuly's influence also extends beyond glass. He has experimented with painting, sculpture, and mixed-media installations, always returning to the themes of transparency, fluidity, and transformation. His bold use of color, scale, and repetition has drawn comparisons to artists like Jackson Pollock and Frank Stella, though his medium remains singular in its combination of fragility and strength.
Today, Dale Chihuly remains one of the most recognized and celebrated living American artists. His work invites viewers into dazzling worlds that shimmer, twist, and breathe—spaces where light and material are no longer separate, and where imagination becomes tangible. In doing so, he has not only changed how we see glass, but how we experience art itself.
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