Electric Yellow and Deep Coral Tower (2017)
Dale Chihuly
A soaring structure of upstretched tendrils in radiant yellow and coral hues, this tower of hand-blown glass forms affixed to a steel armature evokes flames and, though static, suggests a riot of writhing movement. The Towers series is a natural evolution of the Chandeliers, answering Chihuly’s dilemma of how to suspend works that weigh thousands of kilograms from structures that cannot support the weight. The simple answer? Invert them and make them terrestrial.
Though initially a response to an engineering problem, Chihuly’s Towers has become one of his more beloved and recognisable series, central to exhibitions in historic cities, museums, and botanical gardens around the world. This particular installation—Electric Yellow and Deep Coral Tower—was previously sited at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore in 2021, and Chihuly at Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina in 2018. It is now found in the Mulberry Square garden at Chelsea Barracks, standing tall amongst the greenery.
13½ x 8 x 8′
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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.