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The Fort Wayne Museum of Art unveils the Amber & Waterford Crystal Chandelier by Dale Chihuly.
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Photos provided by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
Press release
FORT WAYNE — The Fort Wayne Museum of Art announces the unveiling of the Amber & Waterford Crystal Chandelier by Dale Chihuly, an internationally renowned glass artist. The piece is illuminated, permanently installed and available for viewing at the museum.
This is the second chandelier installed at the museum by famed artist Dale Chihuly, who has had an immeasurable impact on the world of studio glass and fine art. Chihuly is known for his ambitious architectural installations around the world in historic cities, public museums and gardens. He is credited with revolutionizing the studio glass movement by elevating the medium of glass from craft to fine art, and he has trained a variety of artists in the Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s glass sculpture collection. Chihuly chandeliers are the crowning glory of a glass collection.
This signature installation for the museum was led by a specialized team of glass installers who carefully assembled 1,000 pounds of individual blown glass elements into a dazzling chandelier that hangs adjacent to the museum’s Sculpture Court and Studio Glass Wing. Titled Amber & Waterford Chrystal Chandelier, this 2009 chandelier is 5 feet wide and 4 feet tall. FWMoA acquired the chandelier from an Indiana collector outside of Fort Wayne who purchased it from a gallery in Columbus, OH. The last time FWMoA installed a Chihuly chandelier was in 2016 when they unveiled Lily Gold Chandelier.
In 1969, Chihuly helped establish a glass program at the Rhode Island School of Design. Two years later, he and glassmaker Paul Marioni founded the Pilchuck Glass School, an experimental program that began in a Seattle nursery and became a leading institution in the studio glass movement. During the 1960s and 1970s, Chihuly taught at Wisconsin, RISD, and Pilchuck.
General admission to this chandelier at the museum is free for FWMoA members, $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors 65 and older, and $25 for families. On Thursdays from 5-8 p.m., general admission is free for everyone. Veterans, active military personnel, and their families receive free general admission. The FWMoA Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
