Let me introduce to you some fantastic artworks in glass. Dale Chihuly (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, “moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture.”
Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibit in the Seattle Center directly next to the Space Needle, showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly. It opened in May 2012 at the former site of the defunct Fun Forest amusement park. I was fortunate to have visited this Art Museum of Glass in Seattle when I took a separate one-day tour from Vancouver after I visited Canada ended.
Chihuly’s glass flowers and installations first came to Singapore with the Ritzy Carlton Hotel st Marina area and the newly opened Hall at the Spore Art Museum at Bras Basah Road level 2. A few months ago, there was a large-scale exhibition of his works at the Garden by the Bay of Singapore.
The artworks are enormous and highly priced. They are suited chiefly for enhancing the beauty and ambiance of large hotels, large institutions, large mansions, and open-air public places. You will notice from the pictures that a number of the installations are displayed in various gardens: Dallas and Las Vegas in the US, Kew Garden in the UK, and Singapore Gardens by the Bay, where several giant white blossoms are placed within a pond surrounded by palm trees.
Their sizes and costs are so large that most can only be admired but not acquired by private collectors and most of us.
Tan It Koon
Before retirement, Dr Tan It Koon was, among many appointments, Head of Clinical Biochemistry at SGH’s Dept of Pathology. He was the Deputy Chairman of the National Theatre Trust and Chairman for Grants and Scholarships of the Spore Cultural Foundation. He received the National Day Awards, PBM, and PPA, for his contribution to cultural and community development and excellence in Public Administration.
