Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
Where Art And Nature Meet:The Dale Chihuly Exhibit~GlassBlowing/Glass Sculpture~GlassArt Extraordinaire!Apr 15, 2006 (Updated Apr 17, 2006) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Magnificent glass forms that capture nature's finest. Displays that will boggle your mind and fill you with awe at his talent and perception of nature I’ve been very fortunate to have visited some wonderful places in my life and seen some incredible art exhibits in museums, galleries and even the homes where some of the most famous artists in the world lived while they were still alive and creating the works we can see to this day…But, just this week, I found myself in the midst of an extraordinary exhibit, one which can rival almost anything I have seen before...An exhibit unlike any and one which may be coming to a city near you. “I want my work to appear like it came from nature” “I can’t understand it when people say they don’t like a particular color. How on Earth can you not like a color” “Glass is the most magical of all materials” These are three quotes penned by the artist Dale Chihuly whose work is now on display at the Fairchild Tropical Gardens, one of Miami’s most beautiful gardens and a big attraction for visitors and residents alike. We had decided, when hubby took the day off this week, to go see this exhibit after we had heard from many people we know how much they had enjoyed their own visits and after reading quite a few articles and rave reviews about it in our local newspapers. Not to be missed they all said and particularly special since it is taking part in one of the prettiest spots in all of South Florida. Dale Chihuly, is noted for using glass as his medium and has done more than anyone else to bring the fine art of glass to the public eye, demonstrating his talents in glass blowing and his innovation in creating pieces of art that are almost hard to believe when gazing upon them. His passion for color and the sheer scope of each piece defies logic. How could he have done that? We asked each other over and over again while we wandered through the Gardens which by themselves are a wonder but now, with these spectacular works interspersed amid the trees and tropical plants, it was almost mind blowing. One exhibit, a glass tree, almost the size of the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller center, but instead of green limbs and colored bulbs, the tree itself is colored glass, rows and rows of bright squiggly branches reaching up to the sun…Set in a Lily pond the contrast is striking…Climb the small foot bridge behind it and look down and out, towards Biscayne Bay, this is truly a sight to be seen. Everywhere we walked we found more of his sculptured glass works, some hidden behind and between rare tropical plants…Suddenly there are bright red or orange glass limbs reaching out, or huge open glass flowers, all in ornate colors with stunning shapes and forms...A few reminded me of alien life forms from other planets, something you might find while watching Star Trek or other movies of that kind. On the ponds and small lakes of the property are more glass shapes, one display resembled small ice burgs in shades of pale to dark blues. Another had giant glass globes and, with the sun shining down on them, those amazing primary colors seemed unreal…In a large group of bushes you will find tall stalks of green glass as they snake up out of the turf, the same heights as the plants they are integrated with, another piece looks like green cactus…Others are immense colorful squiggly lines reaching up and out, part of a bigger piece of glass floating in the water or on the land…Huge red glass bulbs set in the plants in one display, cobalt blue forms called Herons in another, those really looked like aliens to me… One display looked like glass striped candy canes set in a garden of red and white plants, a match like no other I’ve ever seen…...There is a huge pink crystal tower in one small pond that is located near the Amphitheater which resembles a fountain of water.. So intricate and so impressive at the same time…In a giant Oak tree there was a Chartreuse candelabra that looked like a Hornets nest. I didn’t really know where to look first or where to aim my camera. Then into the Conservatory where there are the most delicate forms of rare tropical foliage and exotic plants. Here there was an astounding array of glass, in various shapes and sizes, each one, a truly incredible sight to see…How in the world does he do it we wondered over and over again. We found the answer to that question in the Gallery where very expensive reproductions and original pieces of his art are on display and for sale. There was a Plasma TV on the wall with a demonstration tape playing featuring Chihuly in his studio. I did get to watch a bit of it before it was about to end...I was amazed once again, this time at the prices of the pieces, in the price range of $3000 to $6500 and people were buying!! We left soon after that, but haven’t stopped talking about this Chihuly At Tropical Fairchild exhibit and how fortunate we were to be able to see it while it was in our part of the woods, so to speak…Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a wondrous natural world of tropical plants and, for now, has been transformed into a magical, mystical world thanks to this artist and his most unique and wonderful talent. “I want my work to look like it just happened, as if it were made by nature” well, Dale Chihuly, you have certainly succeeded…I commend you and thank you! Chihuly’s exhibit will be on display in Miami at Fairchild for another month, until May 31...But there are exhibits going on now in other cities and for months to come: Escondido, Palm Desert and Los Angeles California, Tacoma and Seattle Washington, St Louis, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, Atlanta, Georgia, The Bronx, New York and at the Marlborough Gallery in NYC. You can find the exact schedule at the website, www.chihuly.com. Since this review is part of an advice write-off, my advice would be to anyone who lives near or would be in the vicinity of any of locales and you can get a chance to see these works of art…, go, enjoy and be enthralled at the beauty of Chihuly's extremely unigue artwork, I know you won’t be disappointed, especially if the love of art and nature, the wonders of it all, are in your realm of interest. There will also be an exhibit in the Netherlands, starting in June running through October. Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for children 6-18, under 5 free…Members of Fairchild Tropical Gardens get a 10$ discount…The tram ride you can take throughout the park is part of that admission.. The grounds at Fairchild are open on Thursday nights to view this amazing exhibit under the stars..The price of admission then is $30...I can only imagine what the glass looks like all lit up! Happy And Safe Travels This has been part of mmcphee's advice write/off To view all the other extremely helpful entry's please go here  |
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