Dale Chihuly’s incredible blown glass at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I made my annual pilgrimage to my hometown of Montreal this August with a dual-purpose: to take my eldest off to Bishops University and to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts with my mother! Breathtaking and inspiring, a wonderful end to a beautiful summer of sun, travel, and art!

‘The Sun’ outside the Museum’s iconic facade

With colour integral to my own artwork, it was not surprising that I was so drawn to the breathtaking kaleidescope of hues with which Chihuly creates. He is recognized worldwide for having revolutionized the Studio Glass movement and this is his first Canadian show.

‘Persian Colonnade’ lining the staircase as you enter the exhibition

One of ‘The Boats’ containing flower stems and vines from the Fiori series

Large spheres from the Float series in and around more boats

From the outdoor public space where The Sun radiates, to the upper stairwell of the Hornstein Pavilion where Chihuly specifically created the Persian Colonnade to highlight the museum’s architecture, each room offers different installations, visions of color, light, repeated forms and visual effects.

‘Glass Forest’ of blown white glass filled with argon gas and neon

‘Chandeliers’ and a ‘Tower’ each weighing several hundred kilograms!

Sculptural bowl in the ‘Macchia Forest’

Chihuly, born in 1941 in Tacoma Washington, received 2 MFAs in sculpture and then ceramics and travelled to Murano, Italy to study the delicate crafting of blown glass and the concept of co-ordinated teamwork. Since the mid-80s Chihuly has worked in Seattle where, with the help of his team of glassblowers, installation technicians, engineers, architects, electricians and project coordinators, he has created ambitious installations around the world, in historic cities, museums and gardens.

The exhibition runs until October 20th and although the colours captured using my new Fujifilm x-e1 are authentic, this show should be seen LIVE to gain the full impact.

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