May 27, 2023 - Chihuly Exhibit in the Missouri Botanical Gardens

Kelly's sister, Joan, bought us tickets to see the Chihuly Exhibit in the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Dale Chihuly is a world-famous glass blower and hailed as one of the most important artists of the 21st century. He has transformed glass into a multidimensional artform. Here are a number of his works displayed in the botanical gardens, some dating back to 2003. This is the first one you see as you enter. It is well over thirty feet tall with leaves of various green and yellow hues. 

These are "herons" in a pond. Not only are the shapes fascinating but also the stripes in the glass.

This piece is well over twenty feet tall and hangs from the top of the Climatron. It is made up of hundreds of individually blown glass pieces in multiple colors of white and blue. Amazing,

This picture gives a better prospective of just how massive this piece is. I can't image how they got it up there. My assumption is piece by piece.

These are reeds in the water. All were matched in color.

These are floating onion-shaped striped globes in the reflecting pool near the entrance.

This work is well over ten feet tall with some of the yellow pieces being over four feet long. Inside each red flower there is a bulb, which has to be blown separately and attached to the flower before it cools. I can't imagine how they assemble and disassemble these pieces and move them across country for various exhibitions. Where do you start?

As you walked the paths throughout the gardens installations would appear looking natural in the environment.

This work was called reeds growing out of logs. With the individual pieces being so close together this has to be a nightmare to install and keep them all straight up. The colors were all perfectly blended as well. 

This was probably my favorite piece. It is a tree around twenty feet tall and at least that wide. It is made up of hundreds of blown tubes in various shapes and shades of orange, yellow, and red. Again, I can't imagine how they transport this and assemble and disassemble it.

Walking through the gardens and taking in the glass installations was quite a treat on a beautiful evening in St. Louis. I can certainly see why Dale Chihuly is rated as one of the most important artists of the 21st century. No one else does this. Absolutely amazing.