Chihuly Studio Presents: A Moment of Zen – Chihuly and Architecture

Dec 20, 2024

Chihuly is best-known for elevating glass sculpture into the realm of fine art—but his journey didn’t start there.

Chihuly’s undergraduate studies were in interior design and architecture. These disciplines require a keen understanding of light and space. Ultimately, this training became a springboard for the way his site-specific installations interact with their settings. For Chihuly, artwork is about the relationship between the object and the space it occupies.

The Bending of Light

Chihuly’s exhibitions and installations around the world emphasize their surroundings in unexpected ways. For example, at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in the Sonoran Desert, tall Reeds contrast against the clean lines and low-slung profile of the buildings. Meanwhile, the Beaux-Arts rotunda of Tacoma, Washington's Union Station becomes a screen onto which the shadows of a Chandelier are projected.

“My work thrives on the interplay between the art, its audience, and its surroundings,” said Chihuly in a 2021 interview with Architectural Digest, “whether that be a garden, home, or grand architectural space. When designing with an architectural setting in mind, I want my work to communicate with it and to change one’s experience in the space through the juxtaposition of forms and colors, and the bending of light.”

In this new video, enjoy a moment of Zen as you look closely at Chihuly’s installations around the world—from the iconic Kew Gardens in London to the de Young Museum in San Franciso and beyond. You, too, might see the light bend, if only for a moment. Catch it if you can!