03/28/2026
Refract 2026 is a year of celebrating milestone anniversaries in our community.
We are excited for Dale and Leslie, together with Team Chihuly, past and present, as they revisit this monumental, career defining moment in Dale's career.
Reposted Last evening we gathered at The Boathouse with our incredible Seattle arts community to celebrate the kick-off of “CHIHULY: Venice 2026.”
It was especially meaningful to have our presenting partners, Pilchuck Glass School and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, there alongside many of our ambassadors, donors and sponsors, including Delta Air Lines, Solea, and Vignalta.
In The Hotshop, Dale and the team brought a “Venetian” to life. Dale has been working on this series since the late 80’s. Maestro Lino Tagliapietra worked with Dale and the team on these works in the early days.
Dale shared a great story about how, as a young artist in the 1960s, he boarded a ship from New York to Italy. His friend Robert Hendrickson traveling with him offered a piece of advice “When you get to Italy, shave off that beard, buy a new sport coat, get yourself some wraparound shades, and don’t look back.”
That was the beginning of a lifelong connection to Venice — one that continues as we mark the 30th anniversary of “Chihuly Over Venice.”
From April through November, “CHIHULY: Venice 2026” will feature three new monumental works on the Grand Canal, alongside an archival presentation at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, located in Palazzo Loredan, curated by Suzanne Geiss.
Next stop: Venice!
