I’ve always loved blown glass art, ever since I was in my early teens. I was introduced to Chihuly’s work just a couple of years ago. A friend sent me a link to some photos of a Chihuly exhibit in New York and I got the chills looking at the thumbprint photos; I figured that seeing an exhibit or at least seeing the larger plates that are in books would be even more awe inspiring. I’ve since read a Chihuly book or two. I got this book because it’s the official exhibition catalog for a major Chihuly exhbit (6/14/08-9/28/08) at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. I wanted some background information to enhance my enjoyment of my museum visits.

I think the exhibit will be incredibly impressive; I finished this book two days before my first visit. The book is interesting, although viewing Chihuly art piece by piece is not the way it’s meant to be experienced; it simply doesn’t do justice to the art. There are some plates in this book of his famous scenes with multiple pieces including a spectacular ceiling that I hope will be at the museum.

The most interesting things about this book are Chihuly’s biographical information which covers his boyhood to the present, not in depth, but there’s sufficient information to better understand the art produced, and also that the text and plates/photos cover many (if not all) of his various periods and styles.