DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN ANNOUNCES CHIHULY IN THE DESERT
August 10, 2021MEDIA CONTACT FOR TALIESIN WEST:
Jan Bracamonte / 480-540-3842 / Jan@JLaurenPR.com
MEDIA CONTACT FOR DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN:
Dana Terrazas / 602.295.5177 / dterrazas@dbg.org
Dale Chihuly Returns to the Sonoran Desert with a Stunning New Exhibition at Two Iconic Arizona Venues
Chihuly in the Desert premieres Dec. 3 at Desert Botanical Garden & Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Aug. 3, 2021) – Dale Chihuly makes a dramatic return to the Sonoran Desert on Dec. 3 with a stunning new exhibition at two of Arizona’s most iconic venues, Desert Botanical Garden and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West.
Combining art, architecture and nature, Chihuly in the Desert, is set against majestic saguaros, landmark buildings and striking Papago buttes. Chihuly’s masterpieces stun from day to night as color, light and form come alive at two locations for a joint exhibition. Tickets go on sale to the public starting Oct. 4 for the exhibition that runs from Dec. 3, 2021 through June 19, 2022.
“The Garden is thrilled to bring Chihuly back to the Valley since their first showing in 2008. We are co-presenting the exhibit with Taliesin West – both venues will be filled with extraordinary glass installations,” says Ken Schutz, the Garden’s executive director. “Partnering with Taliesin West has been a rewarding experience, and I think our successful collaboration might serve as a model for other arts and cultural organizations in the Valley as they bring their programs back on line.”
Chihuly in the Desert showcases Dale Chihuly’s stunning, large-scale installations nestled among the Garden’s world-class collection of desert plants. Featuring installations on the Garden’s trails complemented by a major indoor gallery in Dorrance Hall, the dynamic exhibition includes never-before-seen installations and is a must-see throughout the seasons.
At Taliesin West, installations will be seen inside the building, on the lawns, floating on the water, and emerging from the desert itself. Each installation is a rich dialogue between Wright and Chihuly, pairing the work of two masters in a way that has never been done before. The Desert Laboratory of Wright’s Taliesin West is an ideal backdrop for exploring the elements and principles of design, present in both Chihuly’s sculptures and Wright’s architecture.
“Chihuly and Frank Lloyd Wright, two American originals taking inspiration from the country’s unique physical and cultural landscapes, are a perfect fit at Taliesin West,” says Stuart Graff, president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. “With our World Heritage buildings and mountainous desert backdrop, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation presents its first exhibition of this kind, revealing how art, architecture and nature come together to connect our visitors more deeply with the world around them.”
Chihuly’s spectacular artwork can be found in more than 200 museums worldwide, and garden exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the New York Botanical Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Gardens by the Bay, Singapore.
To purchase tickets, visit ChihulyintheDesert.com.
About Desert Botanical Garden
Discover the tranquil vibrancy of 50,000 desert plants nestled amid the red rocks of the Papago Buttes at Desert Botanical Garden. An Arizona icon for 82 years, the Garden has grown into a compelling attraction and desert conservation pioneer, offering worldly plants, vibrant trails, world-class exhibitions, festive events and so much more.
About the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, established by Wright in 1940, is dedicated to preserving Taliesin and Taliesin West, both World Heritage sites, for future generations, and inspiring people to discover and embrace an architecture for better living through meaningful connections to nature, the arts, and each other. The Foundation continues the Frank Lloyd Wright legacy by broadening access to his ideas, works, and designs — considered more relevant today than in his own time — and provides new pathways for audiences to create beauty and connectedness in their own lives. Taliesin West was recently named among the top 10% percent of attractions worldwide by TripAdvisor. Visit FrankLloydWright.org for more information on tour schedules, cultural and educational experiences and events. To shop the latest Wright-inspired home, design and lifestyle products, visit FrankLloydWrightStore.com.
About Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American artist noted for revolutionizing the studio glass movement and elevating perceptions of the medium. Known for ambitious architectural installations in cities, museums, and gardens around the world, Chihuly utilizes a variety of media to realize his creative vision, including glass, paint, charcoal, neon, ice, and Polyvitro. Chihuly’s work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, including 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), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (2017), Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands (2018), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, U.K (2019), and Gardens by the Bay, Singapore (2020). Chihuly Garden and Glass, a long-term exhibition located at the Seattle Center, opened in 2012.
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