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The Organic Whimsey of Dale Chihuly

The Transformative Power of Architecture
February 17, 2019
Proud to announce the redesign of CoreNet NYC Chapter Magazine
August 15, 2019
The Transformative Power of Architecture
February 17, 2019
Proud to announce the redesign of CoreNet NYC Chapter Magazine
August 15, 2019
 
The Organic Whimsey of Dale Chihuly
by Evan

I never liked Chihuly's work—didn’t understand the fuss. The corporate lobby installations that I knew him for seemed strange and extravagantly out of place. While heading to New York Botanical Garden on a hot day last July to see the much-lauded Chihuly installation, my plan was to while away my time in the shade of a big tree and wait till it was over. I was simply unprepared to love the show, but I did. I loved it.

Out in the open air, Chihuly's work activated the Garden in ways that complimented an already beautiful and fully realized creative vision--the park itself. In every setting, the architectural installation of fantastical glass was both eerily organic and otherworldly, but somehow always right. The work effectively drew me into a conversation about making, meaning, materials, emotions, interior, and exterior spaces, and figure and ground. I was deeply moved by the harmony of it all and learned again how powerful and limitless creativity can be.