Chihuly at Kew

Yesterday, Dave and I went to see Dale Chihuly's blown glass artworks on exhibit at Kew Gardens. The pieces are set out among the plantings on the grounds and in the greenhouses, like gigantic thistles and lilies. This one, called "Sapphire Star," is the first piece inside the main gate.

At the gardens' art gallery, more of Chihuly's smaller blown glass is on display, like these "macchia." (They're not that small -- maybe a couple of feet across?) We also picked up a map here, showing us where the rest of the pieces were located.

These are called "Niijima Floats."

And this, inside the Temperate House, is "Persian Column," created especially for this space. Wonder how much that thing weighs?

This isn't the first time I've seen Chihuly's work in an outdoor setting. Long ago, soon after I first started my blog, I went to see Chihuly's show at the New York Botanical Garden. Many of the pieces we saw yesterday seemed similar to some I saw in New York, but I guess they must not be the same ones, because these were created more recently (according to the dates on the exhibit signs).

This is "Scarlet and Yellow Icicle Tower." Everyone was taking pictures, like the woman in the background using her iPad. As I said in that old blog post, Chihuly's shows provide "lots of fodder for photographers!"

This is "Ethereal White Persian Pond," echoing the water lilies in the lily house.

And this is the top of "Summer Sun," outside the Palm House. (An homage to my earlier photo of a similar sculpture in New York!)

We had fantastic weather for our outing, and enjoyed lunch at a nearby cafe before walking around the show. Unfortunately Olga couldn't come, because Kew doesn't allow dogs. But she wasn't entirely abandoned -- she got some exercise with her regular dog walker on the Heath.