Amethyst Reeds (2024)
Dale Chihuly
Chihuly’s Reeds made their debut during the groundbreaking 1995–96 Chihuly Over Venice project. Reminiscent of the Icicle forms common in his Chandeliers and Towers, Reeds become the most extreme expression of this elongated form, at up to three metres tall each.
Because the long, upright, tubular forms contrast with organic, irregular shapes found in nature, Chihuly frequently uses them in conservatory or botanical garden exhibitions, emphasizing contrasts and creating complex compositions. Outside of garden exhibitions, he often presents Reeds atop logs of raw wood to incorporate an element of contrast between the tall, sleek stalks of glass and the rough grain of wood. While Reeds compositions are typically a single color, here we see a unique monochrome colorway that pairs deep hues of violet with vivid magentas. Visitors entering Chelsea Barracks from the Pimlico Road entrance will be welcomed by this piece within the water feature of Whistler Square.
9½ x 11 x 6½’
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About The Project
Following the successful three phases of its sculpture trail, Chelsea Barracks is pleased to add to its art programme with the inaugural edition of ‘Modern Masters’, a free outdoor programme of contemporary art curated by public art and cultural placemaking agency New Public, in partnership with London Craft Week. Find out more here.
Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly is an American artist who transforms spaces with experiments in colour, light, transparency, and form. He is known for his exhibitions and large-scale architectural installations around the world and for revolutionising the studio glass movement. Chihuly works with a variety of media including glass, paint, charcoal, neon, ice, and Polyvitro, and his work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, including Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Corning Museum of Glass. Chihuly has created more than a dozen well-known series of works, among them, Cylinders and Baskets in the 1970s; Seaforms, Macchia, Persians, and Venetians in the 1980s; Niijima Floats and Chandeliers in the 1990s; and Fiori, Glass on Glass, and Rotolo in the 2000s. He is also celebrated for large architectural installations.