Dale Chihuly Picolo Venetian Drawing Signed Original 30x22 Inch Painting

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Picolo Venetian
Medium: Original Acrylic and Watercolor on Paper
Size: 30" x 22.25"
Frame: 38.75" x 31.25"
Year: c. 1990-2000
Inscription: Signed "Chihuly" on front
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

Dale Chihuly's acrylic and watercolor painting Picolo Venetian, measuring 30 by 22 1/4 inches, serves as a vital graphic study for the artist's celebrated Venetians series, translating the sculptural energy of hotshop glass fabrication into a vivid two-dimensional composition.

Rendered against a muted, brush-textured background, the centerpiece features a centralized vessel structure built from looping, dark amber gestural linework paired with a periwinkle interior contour and an accent of vibrant red paint at its lip. The rhythmic, repetitive loops directly evoke the delicate glass handles and ornate applied ornaments characteristic of Venetian glassblowing traditions. Chihuly uses swift, spontaneous brushwork and bold metallic calligraphy across the top and base of the composition to communicate form, scale, and color direction to his team of master glassblowers.

Created circa 1990–2000, this original acrylic and watercolor on paper work measures 30 by 22 1/4 inches. The sheet features prominent calligraphic inscriptions on the front, titled "Picolo Venetian" across the upper margin, and is signed "Chihuly" in metallic paint at the lower left. The artwork is accompanied by a formal Gallery Certificate of Authenticity.

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About Dale Chihuly

Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly is an influential American sculptor celebrated for transforming hot glass into expressive, large-scale contemporary installations. Chihuly's early academic studies in interior design at the University of Washington led to graduate sculpture research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under Harvey Littleton, followed by an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1968. A key turning point occurred during his 1968 Fulbright Fellowship at Murano's Venini factory, where he introduced Italian team-based glassblowing methodologies to the American Studio Glass Movement.

Chihuly established RISD's glass department in 1969 and co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in 1971, expanding educational opportunities for contemporary artists. When physical trauma—a 1976 car crash blinding his left eye and a 1979 shoulder dislocation—prevented him from handling blowpipes, Chihuly innovated a directorial methodology. Orchestrating teams of skilled gaffers, he produced iconic series including Seaforms, Niijima Floats, Venetians, and complex suspended Chandeliers.

His late-career artistic practice focused on monumental site-specific installations, such as Chihuly Over Venice (1996), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), and global conservatory displays known as the Garden Cycle. Today, Chihuly's creations are preserved in over 200 international museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and Seattle Center's Chihuly Garden and Glass, marking his total lifetime output as a cornerstone of modern sculptural history.