Chihuly

by Diane Charbonneau

Filled with dazzling color and dynamic forms, this comprehensive volume on Dale Chihuly, one of America's foremost artists working with glass, proves that the medium has transcended the decorative arts to become a means of contemporary artistic expression in its own right. Dale Chihuly has been exploring the plastic potential of blown glass for more than 40 years. His spectacular pieces challenge the apparent fragility of the medium and transport us to a magical world. This exquisite volume follows Chihuly's career through photographs of his series works as well as his monumental site-specific installations. Inspired by nature, Chihuly's pieces explode with color and vibrate with life. Their expressiveness and spontaneity recall Jackson Pollock's action paintings, yet their visceral physicality and playfulness have made these pieces some of the most broadly acclaimed works in contemporary art. As this book shows, Chihuly's work is at once mesmerizing, thought provoking, and visually seductive.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published June 25, 2013

Reviews

[PorshaJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful! A fan of his work and was excited to get this gorgeous, very large, book. It's funny that once you notice his work, you notice it everywhere. Many botanical gardens include these amazing sculptures.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly a beautiful book, large with rich photographs putting the glasswork in excellent light and with a novel typographic organization including different size pages. I didn't find the text particularly helpful but I could imagine it guiding art scholarship, so the right way for most readers to tackle it might be to dip in to slake their curiosity as they find something particularly striking and otherwise just enjoy the text for what it adds to the visual composition.

[Lud · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is definitely a coffee table book - stunning photos throughout. But also some interesting stuff about Chihuly's life and work.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated and informative book about the great glass blower and artist Dale Chihuly.