Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Paradise Persian
Medium: Hand-Blown Glass
Dimensions: 6.5" h x 9.25" w x 6.5" d
Year: 2003
Inscription: Signed "Chihuly PP03"
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity
Dale Chihuly's "Paradise Persian" belongs to the artist's celebrated Persian series, which he first developed in the late 1970s as part of his ongoing exploration of organic, free-form glass. The series marks a significant shift in Chihuly's practice toward abstraction and spontaneity, moving beyond conventional vessel forms to embrace fluid, improvisational shapes inspired by the natural world and ancient decorative traditions. Through these works, Chihuly expanded the expressive potential of glass, emphasizing color, rhythm, and motion as central components of sculptural form.
In "Paradise Persian", Chihuly employs a luminous palette of blue hues ranging from translucent sky tones to deeper shades of cerulean. The work's sinuous, outward-flaring edges are traced with a contrasting yellow rim, a recurring feature in Chihuly's oeuvre that defines and intensifies the sculpture's form. The undulating contours create a sense of movement, as though the glass is still in the process of unfolding. The rhythmic linear striations across the surface contribute to a feeling of depth and dynamism, while subtle variations in transparency allow light to animate the piece from within.
The sculpture demonstrates Chihuly's exceptional control over molten glass, a material that resists precise manipulation. His approach—developed through decades of experimentation and collaboration with skilled glassblowers—balances technical discipline with organic spontaneity. The resulting form appears both delicate and resilient, its thin, rippling edges contrasting with a robust central core. When illuminated, "Paradise Persian" transforms, casting reflections and shadows that change with the surrounding light, underscoring Chihuly's lifelong fascination with how glass interacts with its environment.
Within the context of Chihuly's broader body of work, "Paradise Persian" embodies the artist's ongoing refinement of the Persian series and his ability to translate complex visual ideas into intimate sculptural form. It reflects his continued pursuit of beauty through abstraction, where color and form operate as universal languages of expression. Created in 2003, "Paradise Persian" is a hand-blown glass sculpture measuring approximately 6.5 inches high, 9.25 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep. It is inscribed "Chihuly PP03" and is accompanied by a gallery certificate of authenticity.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly (b. 1941, Tacoma, Washington) is an American artist celebrated for revolutionizing the medium of glass and redefining its role within contemporary art. Over the course of his career, Chihuly has elevated glass from a craft tradition to a fine art form through his exploration of color, scale, and organic form. His work spans monumental glass installations, intimate handblown vessels, and expressive paintings, all unified by a fascination with light, transparency, and the natural world.
Chihuly studied interior design at the University of Washington, where he first began experimenting with glassblowing. He went on to receive a Master of Science in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying under Harvey Littleton, and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Following a Fulbright Fellowship in Venice, where he worked at the Venini glass factory on Murano, Chihuly returned to the United States and co-founded the glass program at RISD. His time in Venice proved transformative, introducing him to the collaborative studio approach that would become central to his practice.
Chihuly's glass sculptures are characterized by bold, fluid forms and luminous colors that evoke the movement and spontaneity of natural elements. Series such as Seaforms, Macchia, and Persians showcase his ability to manipulate molten glass into organic, undulating shapes that challenge the boundaries between abstraction and representation. His large-scale installations—like the Chihuly Over Venice and Fiori di Como ceiling at the Bellagio in Las Vegas—demonstrate his mastery of environmental scale and immersive experience.
In addition to his sculptural work, Dale Chihuly paintings on paper stand as a parallel and equally important component of his practice. Executed with bold strokes of acrylic and mixed media, these compositions reflect the same dynamism and chromatic intensity that define his glass works.
Chihuly's art is housed in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. His contributions have reshaped the field of contemporary glass art, positioning him as one of the most influential and innovative artists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
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