I had never heard of Dale Chihuly until I saw in my CityPASS Seattle booklet that there was a $5 off admission for his Chihuly Garden and Glass installation. This had to be worth checking out. CityPASS has not let me down yet.
Chihuly Garden and Glass is a long-term installation and contains 10 different displays, a movie theatre showing Chihuly’s team of artists at work, and a quirky café, featuring local fare served atop the artist’s favorite collectables.
Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Wash., Dale Chihuly’s work is included in 225 museum collections worldwide, as well as special installations in Venice, Jerusalem, London and Chicago. The new collection in Seattle samples some of his more famous works: Cylinders and Baskets from the 1970s; Seaforms, Macchia, Venetians, and Persians from the 1980s; Niijima Floats and Chandeliers from the 1990s; and Fiori from the 2000s.
The “Glass Forest,” one of Chihuly’s earlier works in collaboration with artist Jamie Carpenter. It is eerie. It reminded me of something that an Ice Queen would have installed in her castle. The neon glow of this work was truly hypnotic.
The Sea life Room echoed imaginary glass waves from deep within the work.
The Mille Fiori, which is Italian for 1,000 flowers, is a glowing garden of glass set in the dark. This room was truly mesmerising and made me wonder ‘is this installation as good as it gets?’ Nope. There was more to come.
The Glass House is the piece de resistance. This conservatory contains one of Chihuly’s largest suspended sculptures. It is 100-feet long; it’s an expansive explosion of Persian glass in reds, oranges, yellows and amber made up of 1,340 pieces. It’s a true game changer. I took a seat in the conservatory for a good fifteen minutes to take it all in. Even then I couldn’t. It was so wonderfully immense.
The day I was at the Chihuly Garden and Glass it was pouring outside but nevertheless I trekked out onto the grounds. Catching the 16-foot Seattle Sun, a gorgeous, round tangle of yellow and orange was a true highlight even in the midst of the gloominess. Check out the Rose Crystal and Green Icicle Towers as well.
The great news was that I was able to get a discount from the $19 for general admission using my CityPASS Seattle booklet. The CityPASS Seattle included a coupon for $5 off general admission to Chihuly Garden and Glass; however you will need to purchase that ticket separately because the Chihuly Garden and Glass is not a ticket included in the core CityPASS Seattle product.
The Chihuly Garden and Glass was the best $15 I have spent on an exhibit in a long time.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Address: 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109, United States
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