The Chihuly Collection

The world-class glass art museum celebrates 10 years

BY MARCIA BIGGS

The work of pioneering studio glass artist Dale Chihuly can be found in the collections of more than 200 museums worldwide, including the Smithsonian and the Louvre, but it is here in downtown St. Petersburg that he chose to open his fi rst permanent museum designed specifi cally to display his work. The Chihuly Collection is a 10,000-square-foot shrine to the art of one of the world’s most recognized names in glass art.

This July, the Morean Arts Center celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Chihuly Collection.

St. Pete artist and Morean Arts Center benefactor Beth Morean had set the wheels in motion for the Chihuly Collection through her acquaintance with the artist. “Back in 2004, Dale Chihuly had an exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts,” relates Morean Arts Center executive director Howayda Affan. “Beth knew Dale Chihuly and she and other board members at the time were instrumental in convincing him to build a permanent gallery in St. Pete. She knew his passion for education and children, and wanted to leverage the educational value of the Collection not only to the future of the arts in this city, but as a tool to educate the public.”

Through Beth Morean’s generosity, the Morean Arts Center purchased a diverse collection of hundreds of Chihuly works, from his trademark jewel-toned icicle chandeliers to his delicate fl oating Persian Wall, freeform baskets, and organic underwater scenes of colorful orbs and reeds.

A temporary space designed by award-winning architect Alberto Alfonso on Beach Drive opened in 2010. It eventually moved to the current 10,000-square-foot building directly across from the Morean Arts Center on Central Avenue in 2017.

The Chihuly Collection is considered instrumental in establishing St. Pete as a “City of the Arts,” say local arts leaders. The Museum of Fine Arts, already held in high regard, was joined by the new waterfront Dali Museum, home to the largest collection of Dali’s works outside Europe.

About the same time, in the nearby developing Warehouse Arts District, renowned glass artist Duncan McClellan was opening his warehouse studio and hot shop. He had been a major supporter of the Morean Arts Center, presenting solo exhibitions and curating exhibitions of world-renowned glass artists.

“The opening of the Chihuly Collection solidifi ed the growing national attention on the buzz around St. Petersburg as an international glass arts destination,” McClellan said. “And its presence has helped bring glass art enthusiasts to the city from around the world.”

Indeed, it’s been a decade of phenomenal growth for the local arts community, and glass art in particular. With the opening of the Imagine Museum in January 2018 and its massive collection of national and international studio glass art, St. Pete has adopted new branding as part of “The Glass Coast.” The moniker, coined by Duncan McClellan, refers to the concentration of glass galleries, studios, museums, and artists in the Tampa Bay region.

Imagine Museum displays several of Chihuly’s early pieces that started to break through from being regarded as craft objects to fine art. “Many of the artists in the Imagine Museum collection began their careers because of Dale’s generosity in sharing his love for the medium, his influence around the world, and his desire to create sculpture that allowed the properties of glass to speak for him,” says Jane Buckman, the museum’s executive director.

Last year, the Morean Arts Center, Imagine Museum, Duncan McClellan and other city arts leaders were instrumental in bringing the prestigious international Glass Art Society Conference to St. Pete, a high honor considering the previous conference had been held in Murano, Italy, said Affan.

Dale Chihuly’s influence in St. Pete and beyond is undisputable. “All artists who work in glass today acknowledge that without Dale’s energy, enthusiasm, and unrelenting exploration of the material, there would not be a contemporary glass art movement in the United States or abroad,” said Jane Buckman.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Dale Chihuly’s avant-garde works have been rocking the glass art world since he co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington in 1971. His series of Baskets, Persians and Seaforms are celebrated for their intrinsic organic qualities. But Chihuly is also renowned for large architectural installations such as Chihuly Over Venice (1995), when he installed glass sculptures over the canals and piazza of Venice.

The artist’s fondness for nature is evident in his “glass gardens,” temporary outdoor installations with a myriad of floral or botanical pieces sprouting from the ground, floating in water or hanging from trees.

One such exhibit was installed in the Royal Botanic Gardens near London, others have been at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and the Tower of David in Jerusalem.

Chihuly’s innovative technique, utilizing gravity and centrifugal force to let molten glass find its shape in its own organic way, had its beginning in his “ basket series” in the late 1970s with its origins in Native American art. He explains his early inspiration in a June interview in Barron’s PENTA:

“During a visit to the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, I explored an exhibition of Northwest Native American woven baskets. Over time, and with the help of gravity, the baskets had evolved into irregularly shaped, slumped forms. I was struck by the beauty and perfection of their imperfection. This moment was pivotal to my approach to glassmaking. The woven baskets inspired me to buck the historic glassblowing traditions of perfection by pursuing the creation of organic, asymmetrical forms using fire, gravity, and centrifugal force.”

The Chihuly Collection is located at 720 Central Avenue, downtown St. Petersburg. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm MondaySaturday, noon to 5 pm Sunday. Visitors are requested to wear masks and purchase tickets online at moreanartscenter. org/chihuly; $15 adults, $13 students 6-18.