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Dale Chihuly -
Dale Chihuly is most
frequently lauded
for revolutionizing
the Studio Glass
movement, by
expanding its
original premise of
the solitary artist
working in a studio
environment to
encompass the notion
of collaborative
teams and a division
of labor within the
creative process.
However, Chihuly’s
contribution extends
well beyond the
boundaries of both
this movement and
even the field of
glass: his
achievements have
influenced
contemporary art in
general. Chihuly’s
practice of using
teams has led to the
development of
complex, multipart
sculptures of
dramatic beauty that
place him in the
leadership role of
moving blown glass
out of the confines
of the small,
precious object and
into the realm of
large-scale
contemporary
sculpture. In fact,
Chihuly deserves
credit for
establishing the
blown-glass form as
an accepted vehicle
for installation and
environmental art,
beginning in the
late twentieth
century and
continuing today.
A prodigiously
prolific artist
whose work balances
content with an
investigation of the
material's
properties of
translucency and
transparency,
Chihuly began
working with glass
at a time when
reverence for the
medium and for
technique was
paramount. A student
of interior design
and architecture in
the early 1960s, by
1965 he had become
captivated by the
process of
glassblowing. He
enrolled in the
University of
Wisconsin's hot
glass program, the
first of its kind in
the United States,
established by
Studio Glass
movement founder
Harvey K. Littleton.
After receiving a
degree in sculpture,
Chihuly was admitted
to the ceramics
program at the Rhode
Island School of
Design, only to
establish its
renowned glass
program, turning out
a generation of
recognized artists.

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