COLUMBUS, Ohio — Beginning June 1, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will be awash in vibrant color as “Chihuly: Celebrating Nature,” presented by Nationwide and Davis Foundation, takes visitors on a journey through the breathtaking work of glass artist Dale Chihuly. The exhibition will present the conservatory’s own collection of the artist’s work in full. There will also be temporary installations never before seen at the conservatory, throughout the botanical gardens and courtyards.
Chihuly has played a significant role in the conservatory’s history. In 2003, the conservatory’s future was uncertain before it became the second botanical garden to ever host a Chihuly exhibition. “Chihuly at the Conservatory” resulted in record-shattering attendance and helped to position the institution as a gem of central Ohio. In a stunning move of support, a private nonprofit group, Friends of the Conservatory, purchased most of the Chihuly exhibition. This significant gift further established the young conservatory’s role as a cultural leader in its community.
Since the 2003 milestone acquisition of Chihuly’s artwork, the conservatory’s full collection has only been on partial display, apart from an exhibition in 2009. “Chihuly: Celebrating Nature” will be featured at the conservatory from June 1 through March 29, 2020.
For more information on “Chihuly: Celebrating Nature,” visit fpconservatory.org or follow the conservatory on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
About Franklin Park Conservatory
Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens offers world-class horticulture, art and nature-based exhibitions and educational programs for all ages. Situated on 40 acres on the eastern side of Franklin Park, the conservatory features the historic 1895 John F. Wolfe Palm House; 83,000 square feet of glasshouses; botanical gardens including the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children’s Garden; and meeting and event spaces. The conservatory owns the largest collection of glass artwork by Dale Chihuly in a botanical garden. It is home to internationally recognized light artist James Turrell’s Light Raiment II, which illuminates the John F. Wolfe Palm House every evening from dusk until dawn.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American artist noted for revolutionizing the studio glass movement and elevating perceptions of the glass medium. Known for ambitious architectural installations in cities, museums and gardens, Chihuly uses a variety of media to realize his creative vision, including glass, paint, charcoal, neon, ice and Polyvitro. Chihuly’s work is on view in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. Those museums include Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Corning Museum of Glass. Major exhibitions include Chihuly Over Venice (1995-96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), de Young Museum in San Francisco (2008), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2012), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada (2013), Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada (2016) and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (2017.) In addition, Chihuly Garden and Glass, a long-term exhibition located at the Seattle Center, opened in 2012. For more information, visit chihuly.com, Facebook.com/chihuly and @ChihulyStudio.