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Luster Persian Set with Obsidian Lip Wraps, 2015, 10 x 31 x 32" Inquire
Poetic, experimental forms
Featured in many of Chihuly’s most dramatic installations, Persians are an exploration of form, shape and color—a celebration of wild asymmetry and swirling pattern. They have an ancient sensibility, and for Chihuly, conjure notions of Venice, and the Near and Far East.
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Elemental Chihuly
Persians have become an essential component of Chihuly’s increasingly dramatic installations. They are mounted onto walls, windows and ceilings—even placed along the bottom of Chihuly’s swimming pool. As seen in this sketch, they are the stars of his permanent installation at Tacoma’s Union Station.
Union Station Drawing, 1993, 22 x 30"
Monarch Window, 1994, 22 x 40 x 3', Union Station, Tacoma, Washington
Molten glass shaped by optic mold, The Boathouse hotshop, Seattle, 1995
Spellbinding patterns
The use of ribbed optic molds is essential to the aesthetic of Persians. Molten glass, ringed by linear wraps, is plunged into these molds to create repetitive patterns. When blown out, the bubbles are transformed into swirling, irregularly shaped rondels with fascinating detail.
“The Persians started out as a search for forms. We worked for a year on doing only experimental Persians....we made at least a thousand or more.”
–Chihuly
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