Dale Chihuly is a worldwide known artist with hundreds of colorful pieces. He was born in Tacoma, WA, on September 20th, 1941 (Chihuly). Chihuly, now 74, has been said to have “more drawing power than ever” (Pousner). Dale has faced many hardships, but continues to come out on top with breathtaking sculptures. In the late 1970s, Dale was hurled through the windshield in a car accident and has lost his eyesight in one eye. He has also had a subsequent injury to a shoulder while body surfing. Both injuries …show more content…
Dale’s is the great outdoors and nature. Most of it is also inspired by his hometown in Tacoma, Washington. Every single one of Chihuly’s pieces is not only unique, but it is designed to be site-specific (Pousner). Dale’s work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide (Wignall). It has also been exhibited at dozens of museums and galleries, including the Louver in Paris, which honored him with one of its rare solo shows in 1986. Since 1976, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, purchased three of Chihuly’s pieces, more than 100 museums worldwide have acquired works by him for their permanent collections. Many major corporations have installed his collections in their public spaces. (Chihuly, 82). In 2012, “Chihuly Gardens and Glass” opened to the public at Seattle Center. Chihuly exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London in 2005. However, in 2001, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London curated the exhibition “Chihuly at the V&A”. In earlier years, specifically 1995, he began “Chihuly Over Venice” for which he created sculptures at glass factories in Finland, Ireland and Mexico. He installed the pieces over the canals and piazzas of Venice