By Mallory Hartigan
The amazing artwork of Dale Chihuly and friends has brought the Peoria community together to admire the workmanship of his blown glass.
Dale Chihuly’s blown glass for sale in the lobby of the Peoria Riverfront Museum
Peoria Riverfront hosts vibrant blown glass to bring community together
Peoria is swirling with color. Colored glass that is. The Peoria Riverfront Museum, the city’s newest addition to the community, has played host to the amazing glass artwork of Dale Chihuly and fellow Italian blown glass artists Lino Tagliapietra and Vittorio Costantini since Nov. 26, 2013.
The museum, commissioned as a means for the Peoria community and surrounding cities to enjoy art a little closer to home, is one of the top museums of its size and scope said Vice President of Programs, Ann Schmitt. However, the projected attendance numbers given to management by the consultant company hired were holey unrealistic; therefore, the later numbers were a little disappointing in the eyes of the public.
That has not deterred the staff at the museum, however. In fact, it has motivated them to bring in a variety of displays and exhibits for all kinds of people. There is something for everyone when you walk through the doors into the immense lobby.
“We try to have a good mixture, when picking programs, of things that we think people need to learn about, but also things that people are going to be attracted to. Our mission is to inspire live-long learning for all in art, history, science and achievement connecting our programs, collections and exhibits,” said Schmitt.
The staff at the Peoria Riverfront Museum have worked their fingers to the bone, striving to get “people who don’t know they are museum people” through the doors.
“We want [people] to come in the door and love museums, and create an atmosphere where people can come and learn things they didn’t even know they wanted to or needed to learn,” said Schmitt.
The glass exhibit does just that.
The Chihuly and Friends exhibit presents artwork from the George R. Stroemple Collection, which is recognized as one of the most significant collections of the studio glass movement in the Pacific Northwest according to the museum’s website.
The exhibit, open to the Peoria community, is set aside in a smaller room that connects to the modern art section of the museum, comprised of several bowls, goblets, insects, chandeliers and much more.
“The color and the different shapes they can form with the glass amazes me,” said store manager Katie Batton. “It’s such a difficult medium and the fact they can get it exactly the way they intended is impressive.”
While most people were drawn to Chihuly’s works, one person was not.
“I would have to say the goblets are my favorite part. There are definitely a lot of variations and colors and it looks like it took a lot of effort to do,” Peoria Riverfront Museum desk employee Candric Smith said. “Truthfully, I have never seen anything like it.”
The exhibit tends to overwhelm people who come to see the intricate glasswork, especially the goblets by Venetian Lino Tagliapietra said Smith.
The chandeliers done by Dale Chihuly are the most impressive pieces in the exhibit, however. Chihuly’s work can be found all over the world (see map for more details.) It is nearly impossible for your eyes to not stray to the light shimmering off of the dangling glass. The four chandeliers are made of hundreds of glass tendrils wired to a variation of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree said Peoria Riverfront Museum employee Christine Taylor.
“[The chandeliers] are unequalled in elegance and beauty as opposed to the yay-hoo colors of some of the other [pieces],” said Taylor.
It took the two men over 78 hours to assemble the two chandeliers on the ground, as well as the two hanging from the museum ceiling. Surprisingly, the artist was not there to set up his masterpieces.
“[Chihuly] has his own team come and put everything together over an immense period of time since he lost his sight in his right eye,” said Jessica Tucker, one of the exhibit employees.
In addition to the goblets and chandeliers, Vittorio Costantini’s glass insects are unparalleled. Hundreds of glass bugs line the cases of the Costantini collection, which almost look like preserved dead bugs, they are so incredibly realistic. Two little girls looking at the bugs even asked their babysitter if the bugs were real at one point.
This is the only time the bugs will travel with the rest of the exhibit.
A panoramic shot of the Peoria Riverfront Museum lobby
Since the exhibit’s opening, the museum has held several related events and classes to accompany the glass works, including a Local Glass Artists’ Trunk Show, Engineering Day, and Chihuly and Friends Exhibit Tour. Upcoming events at the museum include a Glass Fusing Pendant Workshop on Feb. 27, Drawing and Painting with Nana Ekow from Jan. 13 to Mar. 3, and Petite Picassos for children from Jan. 17 to March 7.
The museum has also promoted community involvement through several partner-sponsored events, the most recent being its partnership with AgLab last year.
“It was part of a larger project called ‘Places of Invention,’” said Schmitt. “We have a Smithsonian grant together with [AgLab] to highlight Peoria as a place of invention with special emphasis on the mass production of penicillin.”
The museum has extended The Chihuly and Friends exhibit, originally in Peoria until April 13, to April 27 because of its popularity in the community. Tickets can be purchased at the front desk for an upcharge of $13 from the regular $10 due to the limited time of the exhibit.
For more information about the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the Chihuly and Friends exhibit, go to www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.com or call 309.686.7000.
Chihuly around the world
Artist Dale Chihuly’s blown glass has been all over the country since he began his innovative style. After the loss of vision in his right eye, however, he began to paint his works, allowing his team to fashion his designs from each intricate painting, making them even more desirable. Check out this map, to see where over the globe has hosted his masterpieces, past, present and future.