News Release
FORT WAYNE — The Fort Wayne Museum of Art announces the unveiling of the Amber & Waterford Crystal Chandelier by Dale Chihuly, internationally renowned glass artist. The piece is illuminated, permanently installed and available for viewing at the museum.
This is the second chandelier installed in the Museum by the famous artist Dale Chihuly who has had immeasurable impact on the Studio Glass and Fine Art worlds. Chihuly is recognized for his ambitious architectural installations around the world in historic cities, public museums and gardens. He is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement by elevating the medium of glass from craft to fine art and has trained a multitude of artists in the Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s collection of glass sculpture. Chihuly chandeliers are the crown of a glass collection.
This signature installation for the museum was led by a specialized team of glass installers who meticulously assembled 1,000 pounds of individual blown glass elements to become one dazzling chandelier, which is hanging adjacent to the Museum’s Sculpture Court and Studio Glass Wing. This 2009 chandelier is titled Amber & Waterford Chrystal Chandelier, and it is 5 feet wide by 4 feet tall. FWMoA acquired the chandelier from an Indiana collector outside of Fort Wayne who purchased it from a Columbus, OH gallery. The last time FWMoA installed a Chihuly chandelier was in 2016, when they unveiled Lily Gold Chandelier.
In 1969, Chihuly helped establish a glass program at the Rhode Island School of Design. Two years later, he and glassmaker Paul Marioni co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School, an experimental program begun on a tree farm in Seattle that has become a leading institution in the studio glass movement. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Chihuly taught at Wisconsin, RISD and Pilchuck.
General admission to see this chandelier at the museum is free for FWMoA members, $10 adults, $8 students and seniors 65+ and $25 for families. General admission is free for everyone on Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. Veterans, active military personnel and their families receive free general admission. FWMoA gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10-6 p.m., Thursdays 10-8 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.