Chihuly Nights in the Garden Exhibit at Atlanta Botanical Garden

As many of you know I have not had a chance to write much these last few weeks with the multiple deaths in our family and all the things done dealing with hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, and making arrangements for funerals.  A hidden surprise that came from this was several members of my family decided to go anyway to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens just hours after my aunt’s funeral.  We were all excited expecting to see a beautiful blown glass exhibit throughout the gardens.  It did not disappoint anyone and we were all blown away by the mixture of different glass pieces set in the fauna around the gardens.

Dale Chihuly has been creating unique and amazing pieces of glass art work for over forty years.  He is an American artist whose studio and glassworks facility are located in Seattle Washington.  He has mastered the alluring, translucent and transparent qualities of ice, water, glass, and neon to create works of art that transform the viewer experience.  Globally renowned for his ambitious site specific architectural installations in public spaces and in exhibitions presented in more than 250 museums and gardens worldwide.

Chihuly’s work first appeared in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in 2004 and now returns to this urban oasis of hills and gardens for his dual “Chihuly in the gardens” a daytime experience and “Chihuly nights” where these beautiful art works come alive after dark with incredible lighting using various forms to create unique and exceptional forms in differing backdrops of gardens, cityscapes and sculptures.

For the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s 40^th anniversary Chihuly Studios shipped six 53 foot containers delivering thousands of elements to be installed over a two week period for this wonderful exhibition. (Information above taken from the brochure)

The gardens were crowded but not overwhelming with all the people walking about.  It was a stroll that split the crowds going into different directions as the gardens seemed to be split into four different areas or gardens.  As we walked in it was just as dusk was happening so the transition from day to night was in full swing.  Once past the first wine, beer, and beverage vendors the crowd thinned out and the first piece that came into view was called, “Indigo Blue Icicle Tower”.  Everyone was taking photos as they approached by Kris and I went around to the other side and took our photo with the rising full moon above it along with the clouds going by.

The next area was the Anne Cox Chambers southern seasons garden with the beautiful “Fern Dell Paintbrushes” on display.

We strolled around toward the Lou Glenn Children’s garden to see the “Trumpet Flower Arbor” where we saw a squirrel going in and out of the bell shaped glass pieces.  As we were underneath it taking photos he stayed inside one of the bells so did not get him in the photo.

We made our way by Linton’s the garden to table restaurant to one of the showcase pieces on permanent display, the iconic “Sol del Citrón” at the Alston Overlook.

As we made our way from the Alston Overlook to the Levy Parterre we came upon a beautiful limestone fountain with a blue and white glass sculpture centered on the pedestal.  The Chihuly glass with the Atlanta skyline as a backdrop was impressive.  The IBM tower aglow in the distance with the moving water and the lighted glass made for a great slo-motion video and pictures.  You needed to look from several angles to see subtle chances to the piece.

Video – Fountain

One of my favorite pieces was the “Sapphire Star” which had a long tree lined walkway on the approach.  A long distance photo would have been nice but your eyes did the piece justice that a lens probably could not see.  As you were closer there was a pool around the blue and white ice like sculpture.  Reflections gave one impression looking down in the water while standing in front of the Star gave another with the lit buildings as a backdrop.

Walking into the large round grass garden each side had displays of “Carmel and Red Fiori” with the light glowing among the gardens on both sides.

We walked past the “Zebra Reeds” with the stark white/black translucent look and then through the Fuqua Orchid Center which had several pieces inside.  With the sound of tree frogs echoing throughout the trees and plants inside there was one of my favorite pieces which my interpretation was a Flamingo.

We strolled back past our starting point and went down the hill past an lighted exhibit called, “White Belugas” then went counter clockwise through Cascade Gardens with “Fiori Boat and Niijima Floats”.

Continuing down the trail to the Woodland Ramble and The Gardens in Storza Woods with the wonderful “Red Reeds” on display.

The “Saffron Tower” is one of the highlight exhibits with the bright yellow glass swirls winding and rising from the ground to about thirty feet high.  It is behind a long reflection pool (water mirror) capturing the lights reflected in the water and ripples.  Pictures do not give it the justice it deserves as it is impressive both in day or night surroundings.

The walk back up hill was on an elevated bridge taking us past and over our last two sculptures, “Green Hornets and Waterdrops” and “Chartreuse Hornet Polyvitto Chandelier”. 

It was a wonderful, fun night which we capped off with a trip down to The Varsity for a late evening snack.  Everyone enjoyed the exhibit and we talked all the way back to my sister’s house.   Dale Chihuly has many art pieces around the world so if you get the chance to view any I would highly recommend it.  I remember my first view of his work at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.  They were incredible and left one in awe wondering how someone could blow glass into such shapes and colors.  He has only gotten more creative in the years since that first exposure.

It was a nice break from the ongoing chaos my family has been experiencing lately to stroll in a beautiful oasis in the city at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Piedmont Park.

Ice