Green and Gold Sparkle Float (from the Niijima Float series)

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Green and Gold Sparkle Float (from the Niijima Float series)

Artist Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941)

Date1992

DimensionsMax Diam: 21 9/16 in. (54.8 cm); H: 21 7/16 in. (54.5 cm); Diam (opening): 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm)

MediumGlass; blown, with applied color.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1993.14

On View

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion (2444 Monroe Street), Glass Pavilion Gallery, Cavity

Label TextThese “floats” are among the largest and most technically difficult sculptural forms created by Dale Chihuly and his team of glass artists. They are inspired by the traditional blown-glass fishing floats used by Japanese fishermen to keep their nets adrift. During a tour of Japan in 1991, Chihuly encountered the last living master of this perishing Japanese craft. He also visited Niijima, an island in Tokyo Bay with beaches of volcanic sand that can be melted into workable glass. His combined experiences have informed the Niijima Floats, over-sized soft shapes with slightly pitted surfaces and sober coloration that are enriched by iridescent and opalescent hues. Their installation on floor-level, as desired by the artist, invokes a Zen garden calm.Published ReferencesDeWitte, Debra J., et al., Gateways to Art Journal: For Museum and Gallery Projects, Second edition, New York, Thames & Hudson, 2015, repr. (col.) fig. 48, p. 34.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Chihuly Toledo!, September 17, 2009-February 7, 2010.