Glass in the Gardens: Chihuly Art in Denver

I don't really visit art museums when I travel. Hell, I rarely go to them when I'm at home. I guess I just have a short attention span when it comes to looking at paintings and sculptures.

But when an artist finds a way to blend art and nature in a really cool way? Well, THEN I'm willing to reconsider.

Glass (1)

Before I went to Denver last weekend, a few people had told me to check out the city's Botanic Gardens. I filed that suggestion away, figuring maybe Elliot and I would go if the weather was nice and we didn't have anything else to do.

When I got to Denver, though, I learned that there was a Dale Chihuly exhibit on at the gardens. And you can't say no to Dale Chihuly!

In case you've never heard of this genius artist before, he works primarily in one medium: GLASS.

A Washington native who looks kinda like a hippie-pirate with wild Einstein hair and an eye patch, Chihuly does incredible things with glass, blowing and bending it in ways you can't even imagine unless you see them.

Bellaggio

I've been a huge fan of Chihuly for years, ever since I first saw the Bellagio ceiling in Las Vegas (pictured above). I've also seen a few of his pieces that are housed at the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh — he had a large exhibit there in 2007/2008, and the Conservatory ended up purchasing some of the pieces to be housed permanently in the gardens, including a massive yellow chandelier.

But I'd never seen a full-blown Chihuly exhibit. So, naturally a trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens shot to the top of my to-do list.

The exhibit itself was like much of Chihuly's other work — it was woven in to the nature and gardens that were already there. Half the fun was roaming around, trying to find every piece, no matter how small.

Here were some of my favorites:

Float Boat by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Blue and Purple Boat by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Summer Sun by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Blue Icicle Towers by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens

Monet Pool Fiori by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Float Boat by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Tropical Fiori by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Blue and Purple Boat and Walla Wallas by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Summer Sun by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens

White Tower by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Blue Icicle Towers by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Ikebana by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens

Float Boat by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens

Summer Sun by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Monet Pool Fiori by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Red Reeds by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Blue and Purple Boat by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens

Purple reeds by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

Float Boat by Dale Chihuly at Denver Botanic Gardens

All I can say is, if you ever get the chance to see a Chihuly installation, DO IT!

——

Which work of art is your favorite?

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