Seattle's Chihuly Exhibit - Glass Distinction

The Dale Chihuly exhibit, Garden and Glass, at the Seattle Center is a must see. The glassworks are a feast of color and design and while I’ve seen his chandeliers before in building lobbies, to see the sculptures in a garden is special. The large scale works are also incredible – an explosion of color and shapes against dark walls and a black mirrored surface adds to the drama. My tip would be to visit the exhibit an hour or two before it closes at night – the colors really stand out in the twilight.

Seattle Center Chihuly exhibit — View of the garden with the entrance banner in the background

Among the smaller items on display are a series of works influenced by American Indian woven baskets.

Seattle Center Chihuly — Glassworks inspired by north American Indian woven baskets

Seattle Center Chihuly glassworks — Woven baskets and blankets showcase glassworks

Seattle Center Chihuly exibit — Glass baskets

One of the large scale works in the exhibit is a marine inspired sculpture filled with various shell fish in a light gold glass sitting amid the sea weed and anemone in tones of blue.

Seattle Center Chihuly seascape — Large sized sculpture of marine forms

Seattle Center Chihuly shellfish — Shellfish sits amid the seaweed

Seattle Center Chihuly crab — A crab and reeds in a separate smaller sculpture

The Persian Pergola Ceiling consists of numerous colorful glass flower shapes.

Dale Chihuly Persian Pergola Ceiling — The Persian Pergola Ceiling

An amazing glass rendering of a fantasy garden showcased various colorful interpretations of foliage and glass balls.

Seattle Center Chihuly garden — Bright fantasy glass garden

Seattle Center Chihuly glass — Another view of the glass garden’s central feature of red and yellow glass forms

There were two fishing boats – well adorned with glass balls and other forms.

Chihuly’s most seen works are probably his chandeliers which can be found in a number of hotel and building lobbies. Some samples of those he created are shown here.

Chiluly Seattle Center — Venetian chandeliers

Standing glass flower shapes looked like a field of giant poppies or lilies.

Chihuly Seattle Center — Like giant lily pads or poppies

The final section of the exhibit is the greenhouse and the outdoor garden. Dale Chihuly, according to the information, was influenced by the gardens at Kew in creating his version of a garden.

Seattle Center's Chihuly Garden — A section with red glassworks and flowers

When we first entered the garden, the sun was just starting to set so as the sky darkened, the colors of the garden intensified with the glassworks illuminated by light.

The garden's trees and glasshouse intensify in the twilight — View of the garden and glasshouse at twilight

The Chihuly garden at dusk — Lit sections add drama to the garden

A light spectacle at the Seattle Center — The lit Space Needle and garden

All in, this is a great exhibit to visit. We were here for two hours from 8pm until closing at 10pm. Part of our longer time spent was because we were waiting for the sun to set in order to get the more dramatic views. Otherwise, we probably would have completed the visit in around 75 minutes. We bought our tickets on line but there was no line for the tickets anyway at the time we went on a Sunday night.

The exhibit’s website: http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com

Gazing and Grazing

Seattle’s Chihuly Exhibit – Glass Distinction