Glass in the Garden
Chihuly at the Missouri Botanical Gardens
by Sheila O'Connor

hihuly--who doesn’t love this internationally renowned glass blower? “This artist has raised the form of art-blowing to a fine art” says Lisa Brandon, Public Relations Manager of the St. Louis Botanic Gardens.

And it’s this fine art that we admire him for. His vibrantly colored, fluid and organized glass sculptures in complex groupings are usually the first thing we think of when we hear his name. But did you know his artworks are shown in more than 200 museums worldwide, and in more recent years within the natural landscapes and glasshouses of botanical gardens?

You can visit his current exhibition in the glasshouses of the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis from now until October 31, 2006. You won’t be disappointed either. Over four dozen installations, comprising hundreds of pieces of glass, are dramatically displayed in one of St. Louis’ most historic cultural attractions.

Just take the Blue Chandelier, for instance--the magnificent sculpture suspended inside the Ridgway Center. This weighs 2,300 lbs and is 20 feet long by six feet at its widest point. Chandeliers are probably the most widely known of Chihuly’s works and this one offers visitors a breathtaking first impression of “Glass in the Garden.”

While you’re in the area, go see the Gladney Rose Garden--the roses here were planted in Chihuly’s honor in 2004. You’ll notice that even the trellises around the garden haven’t been forgotten. The chandelier forms attached to these have been designed to pull your eye right into the far reaches of the gardens.

Plants other than roses, of course, haven’t been forgotten--this is, after all, a botanical garden. You’ll find them mingled with Fiori (Italian for flowers) in Chihuly’s own interpretation of a Garden of Glass. Look for the Ikebana, which represents the traditional art of Japanese flower arranging, or the Reeds that extend up to 10 feet. Birds can be seen in Chihuly’s glass Heron creation.

And it looks as if the glass birds could take off at any moment and fly around the gardens which are, themsleves, steeped in history and accolades. They won the “Garden of Excellence” Award in 2004 and now operate the most active tropical botany research program anywhere. One of the oldest botanical gardens in the US, they were originally given to the people of St. Louis by Herny Shaw, an Englishman who landed in the river town of St. Louis where he successfully opened a business selling hardware and cutlery.

And Chihuly has enhanced the legacy by bringing them to life in another way-- with his sculptures. But who is this fascinating man, exactly? Dale Chihuly was a student of interior design and architecture in the early 1960s. After obtaining a degree in sculpture, he went on to the establish the renowned glass program at the Rhode Island School of Design and turned out a generation of recognized artists.

But Chihuly no longer blows the glass himself. After an injury that left him blind in one eye, teams of artists now blow the glass and build the sculptures for him, but this doesn’t detract from the artwork being spectacular.

His works display his early fascination with the flower forms he saw in his mother’s garden in Tacoma, Washington. He was also influenced by the sea and understood its importance to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. Some of this is reflected in his Niijima floats on display--large glass spheres that remind Chihuly of the fishing floats he used to find as a boy in the Pacific Northwest.

The artwork ranges from birds to flowers to boats to—onions! Onions? Why not? Don’t miss the Walla Walla Onions. These vividly colorful sphere bob gently on the three reflecting pools in the Garden, their pointed tips making them resemble their namesake: the famous sweet onions of eastern Washington State.

Most of the work you’ll want to see however is inside the Climatron and the Shoenberg Temperatre House. The Climatron provides the visitor with an introduction to the rain forest. In 1976 the Climatron was named one of the 100 most significant architectural achievements in United States history.

So smell the sweet air as you walk through the lush, warm Climatron rain forest and feast your eyes on colorful sculptures that spring up at almost every turn, amid tropical cycads, orchids, banyan and palm trees.

It’s interesting that Chihuly has chosen the glass areas of the Botanic Gardens to display his own works of glass--a sort of “glass under glass”--where natural sunlight enhances the sculptures’ translucent and transparent qualities.

But if you prefer artificial, rather than natural, light with your art, go along on a Thursday evening between 6-10pm when you’ll see dramatically lit views of the glass at night. Enjoy glass-blowing demonstrations by the local artists from the Third Degree Glass Factory.

“Chihuly has influenced contemporary art in general,” says Lisa Brandon. And she’s right. Don’t miss the chance to check out this prodigiously prolific artist’s work, in St. Louis’ very own green oasis.

Missouri Botanical Garden: www.mobot.org.
St. Louis info: tel 800/916-0040; www.ExploreStLouis.com.