installation

On January 10–12, workers from Chihuly Studios installed a breathtaking 20-foot blown glass sculpture above the entrance to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Ridgway Center, a dramatic preview to Glass in the Garden, a new exhibition by renowned artist Dale Chihuly that opens April 30.

Planning began six months ago with tests by structural engineers and retrofitting of the Ridgway Center to support and light the monumental chandelier. The custom-fabricated stainless steel substrate alone weighs almost 300 pounds. Mounted fully with the dramatic whorls and spirals of Chihuly’s art, the completed sculpture weighs 2,300 pounds.

Entitled “Missouri Botanical Garden Blue Chandelier, 2006,” the sculpture is formed by 928 individual glass spirals and gooseneck shapes in shades of cobalt, icy turquoise, and clear. It measures six feet wide by over 20 feet long and was assembled on location by a team of master installers, who will return in April to mount the rest of the exhibition.

Click on the pictures below to see photographs of the “Missouri Botanical Garden Blue Chandelier, 2006,” installation.