Notes from the road - Chihuly at Meijer Gardens

We heard Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was hosting an exhibit of works by glass artist Dale Chihuly. We've seen Chihuly's work before, at Meijer Gardens and elsewhere, and that became a "must-see" on our trip.

As we drove through driving rain, we wondered how much of the exhibit we'd be able to see. The "exhibit" is actually a series of installations of works around the garden and sculpture park grounds. It wasn't going to be a lot fun in the rain. Just before we got to Meijer Gardens the rain stopped and left us with a comfortable but cloudy afternoon.

One goal of Meijer Gardens "is to unite the art of humankind with the art of nature." This seems to be a passion of Chihuly as well. In 2002 Lisa C. Roberts wrote in the Portland Press:

"Imagine a garden of glass, planted under glass, nestled among lacy ferns, soaring palms, spiny cacti, and fruiting bananas. To see Dale Chihuly's magnificent artwork displayed amid the plant kingdom from which so many of his forms seem to emanate is to see both art and plants in a new light. Each reflects the other in a shimmery mix of tendrils, buds, and fronds. The fact that this dance takes place within the walls of a historic glasshouse makes it that much more resonant, as though someone had subverted the boundaries between the house and its leafy occupants.

"And why not? Conservatories are, after all, exquisitely crafted re-creations of natural environments. Introducing Chihuly's glasswork takes the manipulation to another level, one that aspires to stimulation, not simulation. It startles expectation, stretches the imagination, and provides a new way of experiencing both plants and art."

Roberts could have been writing about the Meijer Gardens installations as well. At Meijer Gardens however, the installations are both inside the conservatories but outside, placed in specific environments in the gardens and sculpture park. In these installations the hard, man-made glass seems to grow from the softer natural environment.

One of the wonderful things about sculpture is its existence in three-dimensional space. You can move around it, view it from different angles. Each new angle is a new experience. In the Chihuly installations, the space itself is part of the sculpture, not just a neutral background. Moving through the garden space around each sculpture changes not only your view of the sculpture but of its place in the landscape. Each new view is a surprise.

We took a whole bunch o' pictures of the Chihuly works. You can see the best of them on our Flickr page. The exhibit has been extended through October 31. If you are anywhere near the West Michigan area, go see it!