The current COVID-19 situation has paved the way for innovative ideas of sharing art. Sims Reed Gallery presents a virtual exhibition of fine art prints and original works on paper by the internationally renowned American artist Dale Chihuly. Escape your bedroom during isolation with this 3D walkthrough of Chihuly: An Exhibition of Prints and Works on Paper, online now until Friday, May 1.
While celebrated for his exquisite and pioneering glass installations, drawing has always been integral to Chihuly’s artistic practice, and became an increasingly important means of communicating his ideas to his team after he lost sight in his left eye in 1976.
According to the man himself, “Sometimes the drawings would be about the glass; sometimes they’d just be drawings, a way to release the energy, or a way for my mind and body to be creative while the glassblowing was going on.”
This exhibition, comprising of 29 original prints and 10 original works on paper, seeks to reveal the elision of the two disciplines. Some of the prints, a medium the artist has been exploring for almost 30 years, draw on his sculptural series, such as Baskets, Niijima Floats and Venetians, for inspiration, while others are purely imaginative. The featured prints range from woodcuts, hand-coloured screenprints and lithographs, as well as many embellishments incorporated into the production of each.
His two other guiding principles, asymmetry and irregularity, can be witnessed in the displayed works. For example, Echo Floats (2018), is formed of two swirling daffodil-yellow and iridescent violet spheres with speckled centres set against a spring green background.
Chihuly: An Exhibition of Prints and Works on Paper at Sims Reed Gallery can be admired from the comfort of your home from March 25 to May 1. Browse through the virtual art gallery HERE.
