The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is pleased to present “Dale Chihuly: Cylinders, Macchia, and Venetians from the George R. Stroemple Collection,” opening June 5 and continuing through August 28, 2021, in the Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery and the Maribeth Collins Lobby. Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941), is an internationally recognized Seattle glass artist who helped revolutionize the studio glass movement in the 1960s and 1970s, co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in 1971 in Stanwood, Washington, and who has pushed the boundaries of the glass medium to new heights of artistic skill and technical virtuosity since the 1980s.
Organized by Director John Olbrantz, the artworks have been drawn from the George R. Stroemple Collection of Portland, Oregon, arguably one of the largest and finest collections of Chihuly’s artwork in private hands. The exhibition features 72 glass vessels and includes Chihuly’s Irish Cylinders, inspired by Irish themes, St. Patrick’s Day, and James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses; his Macchia (Italian for spotted and/or stained), flamboyantly shaped vessels in virtually every color combination imaginable; and his Venetians, traditional vessel forms—cones, cylinders, amphorae, bowls, and ginger jars—with elaborate surface decoration and embellishment. In addition, the exhibition includes a range of his drawings from the early 1980s to the early 1990s.
Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941), “Silver over Starlight Blue Piccolo Venetian with Clear Prunts,” 1994, blown glass, 10 x 6 x 6 in., George R. Stroemple Collection, an S & S Collaboration, DC.210. Photo courtesy of the George R. Stroemple Collection. Photo: Claire Garoutte.
Chihuly was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941 and attended the University of Washington, where he received his BA degree in interior design. He went on to earn an MS degree at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and an MFA degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, both in sculpture, and in 1969 was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant to study glassblowing on the island of Murano in Venice. Chihuly taught at RISD in the 1970s before he returned to Seattle to work as a full-time glass artist in the early 1980s. Over the years, he has been featured in hundreds and hundreds of group and solo exhibitions and his work can be found in public and private collections throughout the world.
Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941), “Lavender Piccolo Venetian with Cerulean Lilies,” 1993, blown glass, 8 x 5 x 5 in., George R. Stroemple Collection, an S & S Collaboration, DC.152. Photo courtesy of the George R. Stroemple Collection.4 T
The George R. Stroemple Collection is internationally recognized as one of the most significant collections of artwork documenting the studio glass movement in the Pacific Northwest and is considered by many to be the most significant collection of Dale Chihuly’s artwork in private hands. The Stroemple Collection includes additional works by such luminaries as William Morris, Lino Tagliapietra, and Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora Mace, and illustrates both the early nascence and mature culmination of contemporary glass art making.
Olbrantz organized Chihuly’s first retrospective exhibition in 1984 when he was director of the Bellevue Art Museum in Washington, as well as a history of the Pilchuck Glass School with craft historian and former Renwick Gallery Director Lloyd Herman in 1992 when he was deputy director of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham, Washington. Both exhibitions traveled nationally for three years..
This exhibition has been made possible by gifts from the BJS Family Trust, the Lawrence and Sandra Post Family Foundation, the Allan Rappaport Charitable Foundation, the Wyss Foundation, Kathi Belfer Cypres, and several anonymous donors; by advertising support from The Oregonian/Oregon Live; and by general operating support grants from the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission.
About the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University
As one of the finest academic art museums in the Northwest, the museum features works by Pacific Northwest and Native American artists, and includes a diverse collection of traditional European, American and Asian art, as well as artifacts that date from antiquity. Frequently changing exhibitions include lectures, special events, tours, artist demonstrations, educational opportunities for children and adults, as well as important publications.
The museum is located at 700 State St. in Salem. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed on Sunday and Monday. Timed entry tickets are required and can be purchased online starting Monday, February 22 at www.willamette.edu/go/hfma. General admission is $6, $4 for seniors and $3 for students 18 and older. Students 17 and under and children are admitted free. Admission is free for everyone on Tuesdays, but timed entry tickets are still required.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to Covid-19 the museum’s hours and guidelines are subject to change as federal and state guidelines evolve. Please check the museum’s website for timed-entry tickets and the latest information at willamette.edu/go/hfma or call 503-370-6855.
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