If Dale Chihuly is all about excess (of volume, colour, scale – virtuosity even), his Seattle Garden and Glass Museum is all about staging. The dramatic presentation made this installation of art glass one of the highlights of Seattle’s Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum.
Wooden boats, overflowing with treasure, rested eerily on lake-like mirrors. Perfectly directed spotlights set the glass glowing and gleaming in the dimly lit room. Shadows rippling down the rear wall heaped on the visual complexity.
I love this piece of artwork – its patterns and planes; the way it seems to float; its opulence and fragility. The stillness.
The mind is tempted by the floating effect to group, then isolate, and even to weigh the objects (which is real and which reflected? – surely they are heavier than they appear?) so we imaginatively get to grips with what we see.
It makes me smile to remember that when I saw the subject of this week’s challenge was mirror my immediate thought was “I’ve got nothing for that… I’ll skip it”.
Turns out I’ve got this shot too, taken in the butterfly house at this summer’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show: almost a mirror image.
Mother Nature might not have got round to art glass (well, not directly, anyhow) but she’s got all the elements down. The colours, rippling patterns and eye-like orbs have all the drama and fascination of the art glass, in softer, living forms.
Susan Rushton 
Gorgeous! I love his work.
I keep meaning to do a post about the garden there – I loved the planting almost as much as the art glass.
Both gorgeous.
Thanks DesleyJane!
Beautiful! Images and writing! Thank you. Are all of them your photos? Amazing.
Yes, they’re mine, though I imagine many people who have visited the exhibition will have taken their own version. I don’t think I saw anyone there without a camera of some kind!
I love the Dale Chihuly’s art and have been to several of his exhibits. Because I live in Seattle I’ve been to get to this one a couple times. Your photos are fabulous.
Thanks Charlie. The garden there is the main reason we wanted to go though I haven’t posted about that yet. You’re lucky to have the chance to see it at different times of the year. It must be lovely to track the changes from spring to winter – I’m off now to google pictures of the garden in winter!
Chihuly is really such a genius. Beautiful artworks. Thanks for sharing this.
I’m glad you mentioned “staging” because artists use many different techniques to illuminate or enhance their art. I think the double image you captured was gorgeous. 🙂 Robin