Next time you’re near Main Hall on campus, pop in to the fourth floor to see an art piece by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. The glass sculpture is called “Cardinal Red Macchia with Ultramarine Lip Wrap,” generously loaned to UCCS by W. Bruce Kopper and Carolyn S. Kopper.
Chihuly, born in 1941, is a Seattle-based artist and entrepreneur known for his innovative glass-blowing techniques and indoor and outdoor installations. He introduced a new type of glass making to the industry, “utilizing gravity and centrifugal force to let molten glass find its shape in its own organic way.”
Chihuly’s art follows a chronology of sorts, with his various series pointing to different decades of his career. From “Cylinders” and “Baskets” in the 1970s to “Fiori” in the 2000s, check out his Lookbooks to see his progression throughout the years.
His work can be seen all over the world, with pieces in over 400 collections, dozens of exhibitions over the last few decades and permanent installations in various locations in the U.S., and two retail stores.