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I was fortunate enough to be invited to the “Just for the Press’ pre-opening of the Chihuly at RISD exhibit that is opening on September 27th at the new RISD Chace Center. It was pretty spectacular because Dale Chihuly himself gave us a tour of his exhibition! It was fascinating to hear him talk about the process of creating his large-scale glass installations. I could tell he was a true artist by his paint-splattered shoes (see photo)! He told us that after buying several ‘dress’ shoes and then inevitably splattering them in paint, he decided to just give up and go with the flow! I thought that was a cute little anecdote.

Chihuly is a RISD alum, having studied and taught at RISD, so it was a bit of a homecoming for him to be the debut exhibit at RISD’s newest addition to their ever-growing campus. If you are in the Providence area, or anywhere within driving distance, I think this exhibit is very worthy of the trip! My favorite piece was the glass ceiling that had around 500 smaller colored glass pieces scattered on top of it, so that when you looked up, you felt like you were in some trippy dream world! The chandeliers were pretty amazing as well…

Chihuly at RISD will run from September 27, 2008- January 4, 2009. Click here for more information and to buy your tickets!

I know this is a world away from NYC, but if you ever are in Oklahoma City, Chihuly has a permanent installation at the OKC Museum of Art that is FABULOUS. Every time I go to the museum, I have to head up there to see it even though I’ve been there dozens of times. He’s truly incredible!

I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to witness Dale Chihuly work his magic at a demonstration while in college and have seen several of his installations throughout the united states. Amazing! One of his famous chandeliers is at the entrance of the San Jose Museum of Art, so I knew I had to have my wedding reception there when I first saw it. His work is true mesmerizing!

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