Chihuly Circle

Clear and Silver Chandelier

Chihuly Chandelier
Clear and Silver Chandelier by Dale Chihuly

Artist: Dale Chihuly
Location: UMD Kathryn A. Martin Library Entrance Foyer (Echo Circle)

Enter the Martin Library, and you will see suspended before you a creation by the internationally known glass artist Dale Chihuly. Take the stairs to the second level to get a closer look at the piece entitled "Clear and Silver Chandelier," so-called because silver was melted into the glass medium as it was blown. The library piece exhibits unmistakable Chihuly hallmarks, as it incorporates influences from his boyhood memories of nature and the sea, and contains an amazing variety of glass cylinders.

About the Artist

Chihuly's work is often controversial, as he has been highly experimental in his use of glass to create sculptural forms. His work has its roots in the abstract expressionist movement, and over the last several decades, he has vitalized and challenged the glass medium, its production, and its audiences.

Chihuly's playful use of colors and inventive forms has made him one of the most popular glass artisans in the United States today. His work is included in over 170 museum collections throughout the world, from New York to Kyoto, Japan.

Dale Chihuly studied at the University of Wisconsin and the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received his MFA in 1968. After that, he received a Fulbright Fellowship and was the first American glassblower to work on the Island of Murano, Italy. In 1971, he cofounded the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle to train the next generation of glass artists.

The library is fortunate to be able to display a glass sculpture by such an internationally recognized artist.

Chihuly Library Materials

For more information about artist Dale Chihuly, consult the following library resources:

Chihuly DVD Collection / Pino Signoretta; Lino Tagliapietra; Portland Press (2003) 4 DVDs. 
• DVD NK5198 .C43 C45 2003

Chihuly: through the looking glass / Gerald W. R. Ward; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011)
• NK5198 .C43 A4 2011

Chihuly Garden Installations / Dale Chihuly, David Ebony, Tim Richardson; Portland Press (2011)
• NK5198 .C43 A4 2011b

Dale Chihuly: A celebration /Rock Hushka; Tacoma Art Museum (2011)
• NK5198 .C43 A4 2011c

Chihuly Chandeliers & Towers / Dale Chihuly; Chihuly Workshop (2009)
• NK5198 .C43 A4 2009

Chihuly's Pendletons: and their influence on his work / Corporate author: Pendleton Woolen Mills., Inc.
• NK5198 .C43 A4 2000

Dale Chihuly: installations, 1964-1992 / by Patterson Sims. Corporate author: Seattle Art Museum
• NK5198 .C43 A4 1992