Seattle Blog and Recent Site Additions
June 27, 2012
Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition
Part One--Introduction and the Exhibition Hall
Seattle Center's Delightful New Attraction
The Garden, Pacific Sun, and Glasshouse (Image Courtesy of Chihuly Garden and Glass)
INDEX OF OUR BLOG COVERAGE FOR THE CHIHULY GARDEN AND GLASS EXHIBITION
The Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition, one of Seattle’s newest attractions, made its debut in May 2012 and it literally adds a lot of color to the Seattle Center campus.
INDEX
WHAT IS IT?
This is a new addition to the Seattle Center campus. The old Fun Forest had become run down and the City of Seattle was looking for a replacement for the 1.5 acre site adjacent to the Space Needle to highlight the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair.
Dale Chihuly , Seattle Center, and the Space Needle worked out an arrangement to build a permanent exhibition dedicated to the life’s work of Seattle’s famous glass artist. The Chihuly Garden and Glass (“CGG”) was approved and it was to be owned and operated by the Space Needle.
BACKGROUND
Detail from the Mille Fiori Installation
Detail from a Chandelier
Dale Chihuly, born in Tacoma, is a Seattle resident and has maintained a glass studio in Seattle for many years. His glass art is owned by museums, botanical gardens, colleges, corporate collections, and private collectors around the world. The popularity of his work has been propelled by a number of public exhibitions of his work. Over 10 million visitors in seven countries have seen 99 exhibitions in the last decade.
Until the CGG was planned and opened, Chihuly did not have a permanent museum dedicated to presenting his artistic career. With the CGG, Chihuly now has a splendid showcase for the vast range of Chihuly’s artistic endeavors.
OVERVIEW OF THE EXHIBITION
CGG is built on a 1.5 acre site and it consists of three parts:
- An Exhibition Hall that houses eight major galleries, a bookstore, and a café.
- A 40 foot tall Glasshouse
- A large garden area that includes four large individual art works and a number of smaller installations displayed in lovely garden beds.
For fans of Chihuly, glass art, and botanical gardens, the CGG is spectacular. The exhibition presents a comprehensive look at the major series in his art career.
EXHIBITION HALL
The Mille Fiori Installation
The Exhibition Hall is the first part of the CGG presentation. The eight galleries and two Drawing Walls will have your head swimming with art. The various rooms and presentations in the Hall include:
- Glass Forest
- Northwest Room
- Sealife Room
- Persian Ceiling
- Mille Fiori
- Ikebana and Float Boats
- Chandeliers
- Macchia Forest
- Drawing Walls
Lovers of Chihuly’s work will just adore the Exhibition Hall. The works are presented in softly lighted galleries that focus on the beauty of the art.
PHOTO GALLERY ONE—please click here to see images from the Exhibition Hall
PHOTO GALLERY TWO—please click here to see images from the Mille Fiori Installation
GLASSHOUSE
The Glasshouse Sculpture (Image Courtesy of Chihuly Garden and Glass)
The centerpiece of CGG is the 40 foot tall Glasshouse that houses a 100 foot long suspended sculpture. The sculpture has 1.340 individual pieces of red and yellow Persians.
GARDEN
If it were shown separately, the Garden would be a major exhibition. The Garden is composed of a number of installations that present Chihuly’s glass art in a 16,000 square foot space featuring outstanding landscaping in a series of garden plots.
We will place a spotlight on the Garden in our next blog article.
Please click here to go the our blog article about the Garden.
CAFE
The Collections Café offers a Northwest dining experience in a beautiful dining area that displays several of Chihuly’s personal collections including vintage accordions, radios and cameras. The Café also has a colorful display of 36 acrylic drawings. The Café has indoor and outdoor seating.
THE BOOKSTORE
The CGG has a 2,400 square foot Bookstore that is comparable to a major art museum bookstore. It offers a wide selection of books and DVDs about Mr. Chihuly’s art works. His art books are simply beautiful.
The Bookstore also features special individual works from Mr. Chihuly’s studio. Finally, it offers a variety of art that features Northwest artisans.
SUMMARY OF THE EXHIBITION
The Persian Ceiling
I was really impressed with this exhibition/museum dedicated to Dale Chihuly’s life’s work. It does a masterful job of presenting Chihuly’s long and prolific art career. You are shown samples of the many different series of glass art that Chihuly has developed, especially for the many public exhibitions of his art.
The CGG exhibition is a must see attraction for Seattleites and for Seattle visitors that appreciate art and botanical gardens. For anyone looking to explore the most beautiful places in Seattle, the CGG exhibition is a headline attraction.
We will revisit the CGG several times and have blog articles that have in-depth looks at the various parts of the exhibition.
PLANNING YOUR VISIT AND BUYING YOUR TICKETS
WHERE IS THE EXHIBITION?
The CGG is located adjacent to the Space Needle, the Seattle Monorail and the Pacific Science Center.
WHEN IS IT OPEN?
Daily from 11:a.m. to 11.p.m.
PURCHASING TICKETS
Please click here to go to the official web site for information about either buying tickets online or at the ticket office.
THE MUSEUM WEB SITE
Please click here to go to the official web site for the CGG.
Please click here to go to our Seattle Alphabetical Index.