Chihuly Projects [Hardcover]

Dale Chihuly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

Dave Chihuly is one of the most successful glass artists working today. This volume contains his large-scale projects including works from all over the world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Voluptuous shapes in luscious color, Dale Chihuly's large-scale glass sculptures are all about immediate sensory experience. It's likely no book could capture the intoxication of being in the presence of clusters of glass forms that look like undersea life or tropical forests, hanging overhead or rising up from the floor in fabulous splendor.

Chihuly Projects offers 200 full-page photographs (in supersaturated color) of 34 installations the Seattle artist created over a 30-year span for public and private clients, plus chatty comments by the artist and members of his staff. A fine essay by the art writer Barbara Rose places Chihuly's work in the context of contemporary art and his own life. (An eye injury in the mid-'70s precipitated his shift from blowing individual tabletop glass pieces to becoming the director of a team effort.) But the photographs tend to flatten out Chihuly's generous shapes, and the real-world settings of the sculptures are often so busy visually that, seen from the fixed vantage point of a still photo, they compete distractingly with the art. Although some pieces are shown in different stages of completion, it's hard to grasp how any given project actually comes together from start to finish.

A splashy book that seems to be trying to match the brio and outsized vision of its artist, Chihuly Projects serves primarily as an eye-popping general tour of work that ranges from a 70-by-30-foot ceiling for the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas to an outdoor "chandelier" (for a retreat in Washington State) with 1,200 handblown glass icicles--and an attached heater for melting snow to add hanging pendants of real ice. --Cathy Curtis

From Library Journal

Chihuly's large-scale glass installations are described by art critic Rose as "an incredibly generous and spectacular public art that can delight and amaze, transport and stimulate." The same can be said for the brightly colored full-page photographs of 33 projects from Chihuly's workshop that form the bulk of this book. Photographs of both finished installations and various stages in their creation, as well as written comments by Chihuly and members of his workshop, give readers a sense of how these works were created. Essays by Rose and Lanzone make references to so many artists and critics that they will not be meaningful to readers who do not already have wide knowledge of art, but most of the book can be enjoyed by general readers, though Donald Kuspit and Jack Cowart's Chihuly (Abrams, 1999. 2d ed.) provides a fuller overview of Chihuly's glass art.AKathryn Wekselman, M.Ln., Cincinnati
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810967081
• ISBN-13: 978-0810967083
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,164,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars eye candy for your visual palette, December 29, 2000

By 

Julie Porter (Shelbyville, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chihuly Projects (Hardcover)

This book is a fabulous deal. With about 75% of the book being full page color photographs of Chihuly's work, this volume really helped me discover who this artist is and what his work is all about. The reproductions are of the highest quality as is the art. The two essays opening the book are well written, allowing beginners and veterens of glass alike to pick up info about the artist, his technique, and his place in history. Notes from Chihuly and his team are provided to give a personal inside look at the art, which I found to be very interesting. Even if you don't know anything about glass, buy this as a coffee table book. I guarantee it will make you look culturally saavy and will be a great conversation starter. Best of all, if you'd rather look than read, this is definitely the volume for you. It's like taking a world tour of Chihuly's glass installations, art that is accessible and fun to view for all.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chihuly Projects, September 28, 2000

By 

robert brown (grosse ile, mi USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chihuly Projects (Hardcover)

This book is best described by the words color and form.Many collectors of glass have discovered Chihuly and his freedom of color and form but not many can travel to see his installations all over the world. This book is so well done it satisfies the eye with the color and forms but the full size of the works of Dale Chihuly are only realized in person,so let it suffice to enjoy the best book on Dale Chihuly and his works.This is excellent photography of Art Glass at its finest.

5.0 out of 5 stars We live in the era of a living legend, March 1, 2009

By 

Marjorie Lenz "Miss. Marjorie" (Vicksburg, Mississippi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chihuly Projects (Hardcover)

The book cannot give the true beauty of Chihuly's work, but sure comes close. Thank God for the advancements in photography. If you get anywhere within 100 miles of a Chihuly GO. I was fortunate to live within 50 miles of his show in Naples, FL several years ago. The artpiece on the cover was installed OUTSIDE as it was far too tall to be in the gallery. Each piece is individually set into the base, and just the installation drew crowds of watchers for two days. All of his work is amazing. The only downside is price. I am not saying the pieces he makes aren't worth it. I am saying I wish I could afford even one piece. Oh well, maybe someday. For now, I have his books.