Chihuly BLACK

Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver
October 4 – November 1, 2008

A  long time dealer of Chihuly glass, Diane Farris Gallery is delighted  to present the exhibition Chihuly Black, a collection of  elegant and sophisticated black forms. Chihuly  Blackcoincides with the release of a new 208 page hardcover publication by  the same title to be launched with the exhibition on October 4th,  2008.

For more than 30 years,  American artist Dale Chihuly has been internationally recognized for his superb  use of color in glass sculptures and for developing his diverse series through  new approaches and contributions from other artists. In 2006, Chihuly decided  to revisit his earlier work using black glass and explore the colour with  skilled and trusted colleagues. This decision has resulted in a stunning new series  of sculpture that includes the artists’ famous Macchias, Soft Cylinders and Basket  forms.

“I started the Black  Series with making the Black  Cylinders. I wasn’t necessarily going to do anything else in black, but  I went ahead and did the Soft  Cylinders in black, the Baskets  in black, the Venetians in  black, the Macchia in black,  and about that time I kind of felt it was a series unto itself.” Dale  Chihuly, 2008

During his 1998 exhibition at Diane Farris Gallery, Chihuly grabbed international  headlines when he spontaneously began painting the gallery’s front window.  Since then, a rotating presentation of Chihuly glass has remained the feature of  the gallery’s front Courtyard Window Gallery. “This exhibition will be another  exciting Chihuly event in Vancouver”,  said owner Diane Farris. “Vancouverites and visitors love visiting our Chihuly  window which is especially dramatic at night. The highlight for Chihuly Black will be two stunning  architectural pieces that I hope viewers will enjoy.”

Most recently, the exhibition Chihuly at the de Young in San Francisco (2008)  featured 11 galleries of new and archival works representing the breadth and  scope of his creative vision over the last four decades. Among his most notable  exhibitions were those held at the Tower of David Museum (Jerusalem, 1999),  Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2001), Franklin Park Conservatory (Chicago,  2003), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2005), Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden  (Coral Gables, 2005) Phipps Conservatory and Botanical  Gardens (Pittsburgh, 2007).