Tall glass sculpture with yellow and blue twisting shapes stands in a garden, surrounded by trees and historic buildings under a clear sky.

September 10, 2026

Words: Lauren Gallow

Dale Chihuly’s Enduring Dialogue With Venice

The 84-year-old glass artist Dale Chihuly lives and works in Seattle. But in 1996, he turned Italy into his gallery. That’s when “Chihuly Over Venice” and his 14 monumental chandeliers appeared over bridges and piazze, transforming La Serenissima into an ephemeral exhibition that paid homage to centuries of Italian glassmaking. It was 1968 when Chihuly first arrived in Venice as a Fulbright scholar, after studying design and architecture at the University of Washington and earning MS and MFA degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and RISD, respectively. The experience not only sparked interest in his signature material but also its potential for monumental public art. Last May, he returned for “Chihuly: Venice 2026,” its three new sculptures installed along the Grand Canal. Cascades of curling handblown-glass elements form translucent columns of blue, green, and gold glass. At the nearby Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, drawings, photographs, and videos chart the evolution of the sculptor’s process from those early Venetian days. “Its light, its history, its architecture,” Chihuly says of the city, “they’ve been a constant source of inspiration.” chihuly.com

Milestones: 30 Years

  • Tall glass sculpture with yellow and blue twisting shapes stands in a garden, surrounded by trees and historic buildings under a clear sky.
    Dale Chihuly’s 26½-foot-tall Blue and Green Tower, 2025, installed at Italy’s Palazzo Balbi Valier, is one of three sculptures in “Chihuly: Venice 2026,” a tribute to “Chihuly Over Venice,” his first exhibition in the city three decades ago, on view through November 14. Photography by Nathaniel Willson/© 2025 Chihuly Studio.
  • Two large, intricate glass sculptures—one green and one blue—are displayed outdoors; a person stands beneath the blue sculpture, gesturing toward it.
    Campiello Barbaro Chandelier, and Chihuly with his Palazzetto Stern Chandelier, both 1996. Photography by Russell Johnson/© 1996 Chihuly Studio.
  • Older man with curly hair wearing a dark eyepatch, suit jacket, and buttoned shirt, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression against a plain background.
    Dale Chihuly. Photography by Scott Mitchell Leen/© 2017 Chihuly Studio.
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