Dale Chihuly Venice Painting

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Venice
Medium: Original acrylic and watercolor on paper painting
Size: 42” x 30”
Year: c. 1990-1996
Inscription: Signed "Chihuly" and titled “Venice” on front
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

Dale Chihuly’s original acrylic and watercolor on paper painting Venice exemplifies the artist’s characteristic two-dimensional visual language, serving as both a conceptual blueprint and an independent expression of his celebrated sculptural endeavors. Set against a deep cobalt blue wash, the composition features bold, gestural applications of metallic gold paint outlining stylized Venetian architectural facades and an arched bridge structure. Dominating the right foreground is a vibrant, organic form rendered in fluid yellow, orange, and red pigments, evoking the fiery, fluid nature of molten glass. Chihuly uses expressive, energetic linework and visceral paint splatter to translate the physical dynamism and spatial vitality of his three-dimensional glass installations onto paper.

Created circa 1990–2000, this original acrylic and watercolor on paper work measures 42 by 30 inches. The composition is inscribed on the front with the title "Venice" written across the top in white gesture lettering and bears the artist's signature, "Chihuly." The artwork is accompanied by a formal Gallery Certificate of Authenticity confirming its provenance.

About Dale Chihuly:

Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941, Dale Chihuly redefined twentieth-century craft by transforming blown glass into a monumental fine art medium. Chihuly studied interior design at the University of Washington before pursuing graduate work under Harvey Littleton at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and earning a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1968. A Fulbright Fellowship subsequently took him to the Venini factory in Murano, Italy, where he observed the collaborative, team-based hotshop method that became central to his process.

Upon returning to the United States, Chihuly established the RISD glass program and co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in 1971, fostering an international hub for experimental glass art. After a 1976 automobile accident caused blindness in his left eye and a subsequent shoulder injury halted his physical glassblowing in 1979, Chihuly transitioned into the role of artistic director. Leading teams of master gaffers, he produced seminal series including Baskets, Seaforms, Macchia, and Chandeliers.

Chihuly expanded his practice into site-specific public installations, highlighted by Chihuly Over Venice (1996), Fiori di Como at the Bellagio Resort (1998), and extensive botanical garden exhibitions worldwide. Represented in over 200 museum collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and celebrated at Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, Chihuly’s career represents a vital bridge between traditional craft, spatial design, and contemporary sculptural abstraction.