Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Tiger Lily Seaform Pair
Medium: Hand-Blown Glass Sculpture
Basket: 5” x 9.25” x 8.75”
Element: 4.5” x 4.5” x 4.5”
Inscription: Signed "Chihuly” on the element
Year: c. 2002
Condition: Excellent condition with no flaws
Documentation: Gallery certificate of authenticity
This vibrant, hand-blown glass Tiger Lily Seaform Pair by Dale Chihuly is a unique work created circa 2002. Composed of two interrelated elements, the sculpture features rich orange glass threaded with bold red markings and finished with a distinctive turquoise lip wrap. The outer form has a fluid, basket-like profile with a softly rounded rim, distinguishing it from the more dramatically ruffled vessels found in Chihuly’s 2002 Tiger Lily Portland Press series.
The inner element echoes the palette with an intense red scale-like pattern against a luminous orange body, nestled within the larger form to create a dynamic sense of motion and depth. Signed “Chihuly” and accompanied by a gallery certificate of authenticity, this work is in excellent condition with no flaws.
Its striking color combination, elegant form, and status as a unique variation make it a compelling addition for collectors of Chihuly’s most distinctive glass sculptures.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is a pioneering American artist whose groundbreaking work with glass has reshaped the landscape of contemporary sculpture. With a career spanning over five decades, Chihuly is renowned for his bold use of color, organic forms, and immersive installations that challenge the traditional boundaries of glass as a medium. His work stands at the intersection of fine art, architecture, and design—and has become a staple in museum collections and high-profile private collections worldwide.
Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941, Chihuly’s early education in interior design and sculpture laid the foundation for a unique visual language rooted in material exploration. He earned an MFA in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and later studied traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques at the Venini Glass Factory in Murano, Italy, under a Fulbright Fellowship. This training, combined with a fearless, experimental approach, helped Chihuly introduce a new vocabulary into the world of glass art—one that was sculptural, painterly, and often monumental in scale.
In 1971, Chihuly co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, a now-iconic institution that nurtured a generation of international glass artists. During the 1970s and 1980s, he developed several foundational series—including Cylinders, Baskets, Macchia, Venetians, and Persians—each pushing the material to new limits of form, scale, and color complexity. His Persians, in particular, embody a sense of ancient elegance and exoticism, while also serving as a bold contemporary statement in color and structure.
Despite suffering serious injuries—losing vision in one eye in 1976 and later sustaining an injury that prevented him from blowing glass—Chihuly evolved his creative process by working as a director, collaborating with a team of master glassblowers to execute his large-scale visions. This collaborative model allowed him to conceptualize ever more ambitious installations, including the Chihuly Over Venice and Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem projects, as well as his landmark museum exhibitions.
Major public commissions include the massive Fiori di Como ceiling at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Rotunda Chandelier at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the sprawling Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibition space in Seattle, which permanently showcases his full body of work. Today, collectors looking to buy Dale Chihuly artwork are drawn to his masterful handling of color and form, as well as the significant cultural and artistic value his work holds within the contemporary art market.
Dale Chihuly’s work is represented in over 200 museum collections, and he has received numerous awards and honors, including twelve honorary doctorates. His name has become synonymous with innovation in glass—his sculptures revered not only for their beauty and scale but for elevating the medium of hand-blown glass into the realm of fine art.