Dale Chihuly. Breath that creates masterpieces

With the possibilities that access to the World Wide Web holds, one could simply write: "Read about such and such an extraordinary artist." A search by name would produce several results, someone would calmly read, look. But this is not enough, I really want to emphasize the rarity, uniqueness, beauty of the works of the artist, which will be discussed further.

When I saw photos of his glass sculptures and compositions, I had an explosion of emotions inside me. Such divine beauty created by man!

And the first thing I wanted to do was to see it live, to stand in front of the composition, admiring, literally absorbing these forms, these colors, these overflows. And to share, be sure to share with everyone who does not know about their existence.

I thought: just as eagerly I want to absorb the beauty of nature: dawn, raindrops, bizarre patterns of ice, snow-covered trees, clouds. Yes, whatever. And you know that this uniqueness of nature will always be with you, like puddles reflecting the sky, they amazed with their depth in childhood and are amazing now. As soon as spring comes, you look into the abyss, standing on the edge of a puddle, and you believe in it so much that you start to stagger with fear - to stumble and fly down.

But these are the wonders of nature, and here are the works of man, which are breathtaking!

They evoke a keen awareness of how fragile and unsteady the creations of human hands are. After all, as soon as the sculptures break or leave their creator, these unique forms, combinations of color and light will no longer be repeated. What only brighter emphasizes the greatness and power of G-d. How talented and, so to speak, sophisticated He is. After all, unique, inimitable, and most importantly, fragile masterpieces. He creates through labor, consciousness and thought of man. But · at the same time remains true to himself - · never ceases to create talented creators. Like the one we're talking about here.

An American with Slovak roots, born in 1941, a world-famous glass sculptor - Dale Chihuly. Although I prefer the old word - glass blower, which combines glass and breath, ordinary human breath, with which masterpieces are created.

Chihuly himself was fascinated by glass from early childhood, when he collected colored stones and glass on the shore and saw the ability of glass to change the color of light. From the age of 19 to 24, he mastered the art of glass blowing, and at the age of 27 he visited the legendary Venini factory in Venice, where he got acquainted with the secrets of famous masters, and since then he has been creating to this day. How many years does it take? For more than forty years he has been creating sculptures, compositions, interior items made of glass. Chimeric sea shells, phantasmagoric chandeliers, exotic flowers, bright, unusual, outlandish installations.

Although Chihuly lost one eye in a car accident and lost his sense of depth, his close relationship with glass did not end. Chihuly began to create sketches, according to which his team blows new works.

For more than forty years of his work, he rightfully deserved recognition: thousands of fans, permanent exhibitions in the best museums in the world, orders from presidents, sheikhs and Hollywood stars. In the famous Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, above the transparent ceiling, Chihuly assembled an entire sea garden of shells and flowers, thus immersing visitors in a fairy-tale world. He hung a grandiose chandelier in the Atlantis hotel on Paradise Island, Bahamas, giving the interior majesty and sophistication.

The form of each of his works is the signature of the master, it is impossible to confuse with others, they are so characteristic and individual. They only look like Chihuly. His secret is the complete negation of the rules existing in art and the discovery of a technological solution related to overcoming the fragility of glass. I'm sure it's worth taking a good look at the photos of his work, and it will no longer be possible not to recognize Chihuly's handwriting and breathing.