Art Talk: Venetians

For 6 months I have been going to the Desert Botanical Garden regularly. Now I want to share pictures of pieces from Chihuly in the Desert that I took in the gallery.

Dale Chihuly
Venetians, 1988-1992
Blown Glass
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Venetians
"I started the series with the simple idea of replicating these strange Art Deco vases but hoped it could go somewhere else, somewhere bizarre. -Chihuly

Chihuly began the Venetian series as an experiment in 1988 with the Italian maestro glassblower Lino Taglipietra.

Seeking to take traditional methods to another level, he used drawings to communicate his creative vision to Tagliapietra- handles changed to knots prunts (glass knobs) to claws, colors and forms became more extreme, shifting from symmetrical to asymmetrical.

The resulting sculptures combine historical traditions in glass making and decorative arts with contemporary techniques and free-spirited spontaneity.

Here is a look at some of the drawings

The Venetian series was started in 1988. We will see later that some of the curves on the next two pieces look very similar to the Rotolo series he started in 2013.