Dale Chihuly Untitled Original Signed Watercolor and Pencil Drawing with Embossing

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Title: Untitled
Medium: Original watercolor and pencil with embossing
Size: 30" x 22 1/2"
Framed Size: 37 1/2" x 30"
Inscription: Signed and dated in pencil, lower left
Year: 1986
Condition: Very good quality overall. There are no visible condition issues with the piece. It's floating in the current framing, and the deckled edges of the piece are clearing visible.
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

The creative process of Dale Chihuly is intrinsically connected to drawing. “I always drew,” he admitted, confirming that the glass blowing operation cannot be reviewed without considering his two-dimensional work. Often would he draw immediately before his glassblowers would materialize a piece, inventing design and shape right on the spot, in a quick-paced, energetic action enlivened with artistic thought throughout. Even besides the hot shop drawing, his ideas were always best described on a piece of paper, through a schematic drawing done in acrylic or watercolor.

His first drawings, such as the “Untitled” one we offer, were largely linear and sketchy, while the later works featured more color and contrasts, in line with his creations in glass. Almost the entire Chihuly’s drawing oeuvre is representative of objects, usually, those he executed in glass and we can easily recognize the iconic shapes - baskets, cylinders and others.

Looking more closely at the linear drawings Dale Chihuly produced, we must refer to the post-minimalism of Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra and Eva Hesse, where geometrism and line dominate. Chihuly’s drawings are almost abstract, they catch an idea in the air and describe it quickly. The “Untitled” watercolor piece we present here is a schematic representation of a glassblowing movement, an essence of a vessel’s evolution and a reminder of a neverending swirling it implies. The movement being in focus, we can only guess that the vessel described would be a basked, while the hints of colors imply the hues used in the actual materialization of the piece.

The piece is created in 1986, a prolific year for Chihuly, signed and dated in pencil in the lower left angle, and comes professionally framed. A real collector’s item for every true Chihuly enthusiast.

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The piece comes in professional, safe packaging. Certificate of Authenticity included.

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About Dale Chihuly

One of the most famous contemporary glass artists in the world, Dale Chihuly is best known for his monumental sculptures and installations. He is the name behind the spectacular ceiling at the Bellagio’s flower garden in Las Vegas and the creator of the Rotunda Chandelier at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Glass works of Dale Chihuly are considered some of the most desired collectibles between the decorative arts devotees today.

Despite his initial indifference towards education, Chihuly has spent a lot of time in school, obtaining both scientific and artistic degrees in sculpture from prestigious graduate schools. He displayed a proclivity for interior design and craft early on, but his true passion was always in the glass. He was a Fulbright Fellow in the late 1960s and an apprentice at the Venini Glass Factory in Venice. Mastering the art of Murano glasswork, he continued the experiments with glassblowing and thus became one of the people who brought the ancient art of glassblowing back into the spotlight on an international scale.

Monumental and small-scale artwork of Dale Chihuly is present in over 200 most renowned decorative art collections today, while the artist holds twelve honorary doctorates!

The most illustrious series in his work are Cylinders and Baskets he created in the 1970s; Macchia, Venetians and Persians from the 1980s, Niijima Floats and Chandeliers created in the 1990s; and a more recent one, Fiori from the 2000s.

For over 30 years, Dale Chihuly has been acting as an artistic director of his team of craftsmen, since he was incapacitated in two accidents, which left him blind in one eye and incapable of holding the blowing tube. This change allowed him to see the possibilities of glasswork on a much broader scale, while still maintaining his recognizable style.