DREAMING FORMS: CHIHULY THEN AND NOW

DREAMING FORMS: CHIHULY THEN AND NOW PART OF ARTIS—NAPLES’ CELEBRATION OF 20 YEARS OF THE BAKER MUSEUM

Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now, the third Chihuly exhibition in the history of The Baker Museum, helps celebrate the museum’s 20th season and its reopening to the public. American artist Dale Chihuly has long been associated with The Baker Museum, including an exhibition of his works that was featured when the museum opened in November 2000, with Chihuly himself attending the inaugural festivities. Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now, on view from November 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021, includes stunning artworks presented in The Baker Museum as well as around the Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus.

Kathleen van Bergen CEO and President

“There is a lovely symmetry to having Dale Chihuly anchor the 20th anniversary season of The Baker Museum, since he helped inaugurate the museum when it opened,” said Kathleen van Bergen, CEO and President of Artis—Naples. “Since then, The Baker Museum has become one of the bright lights on the visual arts landscape in Southwest Florida, and we are delighted to highlight our 20-year relationship with Dale Chihuly as we celebrate the reopening of the museum and the unveiling of the expansion to the south.”

Dale Chihuly is a multi-media artist known for pushing the boundaries of glass and revolutionizing the American studio glass movement. For this comprehensive exhibition at The Baker Museum, Chihuly presents stunning installations drawn both from recent works and from his earlier signature series. Among the featured series, indoors and outdoors, are Baskets, Venetians, Ikebana, Fiori, Rotolo, Glass on Glass and Red Reeds.

In addition, a dynamic, large-scale assemblage, Gilded Fiori Boat, will be premiered at The Baker Museum, occupying a gallery on its own. The work exemplifies Chihuly’s ongoing exploration of site-specific installations and interest in transforming and expanding the capabilities of glass, which can be further seen in Red Reeds. Consisting of a multitude of tall, reed-like forms, the installation will be presented in the reflecting pools in the Norris Garden on the Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus.

Starting in 1977, Chihuly began creating his iconic Basket series, which consists of large, wide-mouthed and asymmetrical vessels, within which several small pieces nest. He has made an ever-evolving array of this undulating vessel form since then, including Fire Orange Baskets and Chihuly Merletto Baskets, an iteration developed in 2019 which embeds lace-like patterns into the work and illustrates his continuous experimentation with technique, form, pattern and color. This exhibition marks the first time that Chihuly Merletto Baskets will be on view in a museum setting.

Inspired by Venetian Art Deco vases, in 1988 Chihuly launched the Venetian series — boldly colored and intricate, vase-shaped works. Also on view are the Ikebana, which the artist initiated in 1989 as an offshoot of the Venetians, inspired by the art of Japanese flower arrangement. Further demonstrating Chihuly’s penchant for organic, free flowing forms, Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now also includes an immersive Mille Fiori installation. Chihuly’s Rotolo, which the artist began in 2013 will also be on view. These delicate yet heavy works sprang from his earlier Venetian series and are among the most challenging to make.

Comprised of glass panels painted with vitreous enamels, Glass on Glass, which debuted in 2017, demonstrates Chihuly’s ongoing exploration of the transmission of light through transparent media. Chihuly’s expressive Drawings, on view throughout the galleries, are often dreamlike and colorful, and they have evolved from a means of communicating with his team to a unique body of work that echoes the development of his glasswork.

Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now aims to inspire and provide the visitor with artistic respite and visual pleasure. It will evince not only Chihuly’s artistic rigor, but also his continuous investigation of contemporary themes and forms while honoring and reinvigorating traditional glassmaking technique.

The museum’s permanent collection currently includes three exceptional Chihuly works: the monumental Blue Icicle Chandelier, which provides a dramatic greeting to visitors as they enter The Baker Museum lobby; Red Chandelier, ensconced majestically in Hayes Hall, where it reflects the light in various ways, creating a swirl of energy in the surrounding environment; and the magnificent Persian Seaform Ceiling, with glass panes spanning the length of an entire corridor on the third floor, sending vivid colorful patterns dancing across the walls and floors below as light filters in from above.

The Baker Museum will launch its 20th anniversary season by reopening to the general public with timed entries and reduced capacity on November 1. All activities will include new safety protocols, social distancing and the use of enhanced cleaning across the cultural campus to combat the spread of COVID-19.

In addition to the Chihuly exhibition, this fall The Baker Museum will also feature the exhibitions Subject Matters: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Rodin: Truth Form Life / Selections from the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Collections and Magritte: Reflections of Another World – Paintings from the Van Parys Family.

Safety Protocols

Artis—Naples will comply with guidance from Federal, state and local authorities and will be responsible and measured in decisions about public performances and events. As has been true since this public health crisis began, Artis—Naples’ main priority remains the health and safety of patrons, musicians, team members, visiting artists, students and the wider community.
Further details about safety protocols and enhancements can be found at artisnaples.org. All patrons will be required to observe social distancing, wear face masks, and have their temperature checked upon entry.

DALE CHIHULY

Dale Chihuly Fire Orange Baskets
(detail) Groninger Museum,
Groningen, Netherlands, installed
2018 © Chihuly Studio, Photograph by
Scott Mitchell Leen

Dale Chihuly is an American artist noted for revolutionizing the studio glass movement and elevating perceptions of the glass medium. Known for ambitious architectural installations in cities, museums, and gardens around the world, Chihuly utilizes a variety of media to realize his creative vision, including glass, paint, charcoal, neon, ice, and Polyvitro. Chihuly’s work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, including Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Corning Museum of Glass. Major exhibitions include Chihuly Over Venice (1995-96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), de Young Museum in San Francisco (2008), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2012), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada (2013), Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada (2016), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (2017), Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands (2018), and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, U.K (2019). Chihuly Garden and Glass, a long-term exhibition located at the Seattle Center, opened in 2012.

ARTIS—NAPLES

Home of The Baker Museum and the Naples Philharmonic, Artis—Naples is unique among cultural institutions nationwide, equally dedicated to both the visual and performing arts featuring artists of global distinction.

KIMBERLY K. QUERREY and LOUIS A. SIMPSON CULTURAL CAMPUS

Led by CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen and Sharon and Timothy Ubben Music Director Andrey Boreyko, we typically offer audiences more than 800 paid and free events annually within a variety of venues and settings situated throughout the 8.5-acre Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus. Artis—Naples welcomes thousands of visitors each year for a broad array of artistic and educational opportunities perfect for audiences of all backgrounds and interests. The Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus is home to five buildings, including two performance halls (Frances Pew Hayes Hall and Myra J. Daniels Pavilion), The Baker Museum, the Toni Stabile Education Building and the Kohan Administration Building.

In the 2014-15 season, Andrey Boreyko assumed the title of Music Director and serves in this capacity for Artis—Naples. Boreyko is internationally recognized as one of the most exciting and dynamic conductors working today. This appointment, extended through 2022, marks his first American post.

The Wall Street Journal says van Bergen and Boreyko have ushered in “an impressive new phase” for classical music in Southwest Florida.

NAPLES PHILHARMONIC

The Naples Philharmonic has long been recognized as one of the cornerstones of Southwest Florida’s arts community. As part of Artis—Naples, the Naples Philharmonic typically performs more than 140 orchestral and chamber music concerts, as well as opera and ballet, education, community and special event concerts annually between September and June in the 1,477-seat Hayes Hall, the 283-seat Daniels Pavilion and around the Southwest Florida region.

Jack Everly is Principal Pops Conductor and in the 2020-21 season celebrates 11 years in this role, bringing pops performances that celebrate music in its many forms. In 2017, Romanian conductor Radu Paponiu was named Assistant Conductor of the Naples Philharmonic and director of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and in 2019 was promoted to Associate Conductor.

THE BAKER MUSEUM

The Baker Museum is one of the foremost fine art museums in Southwest Florida. The museum hosts several traveling exhibitions annually to complement installations of works from its permanent collection. Comprising more than 4,000 objects, the museum’s broad holdings of 20th and 21st century art reflect the generosity and commitment of area collectors. Of particular strength are The Baker Museum’s collections of American and Mexican modern art and significant gifts from the personal collection of Olga Hirshhorn.

With almost two decades of collecting and exhibiting, the museum is dedicated to stewardship and scholarship from both its growing permanent collection and outside sources. At the same time, The Baker Museum seeks out the best traveling exhibitions from the leading arts institutions in the world—including recently the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institutions and École des Beaux-Arts, Paris—to enrich the Southwest Florida community.

The Baker Museum exhibitions reopened to the public on December 1, 2019, after being closed for more than two years in the wake of Hurricane Irma. The repair of the museum was paired with a simultaneous expansion of the building to the south, which created new spaces for multidisciplinary exploration and social interaction.

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY

In addition to creating and presenting visual and performing arts, Artis—Naples provides robust education and community activities for students of all ages. Typically, thousands of Collier County Public Schools interact with Artis—Naples education programming each year both on its cultural campus and in classrooms. The Lifelong Learning program provides engaging lectures and study opportunities for adults seeking to engage more deeply with the arts.

The Friends of Artis—Naples, with more than 4,000 households who give more than $75, offers activities, travel experiences and events geared toward creating a deeper relationship between patrons and the arts.

In 2017, Artis—Naples acquired the Naples International Film Festival (NIFF), expanding its film offerings and providing a platform for the festival’s continued excellence and growth. In 2018, NIFF celebrated its tenth year in the community, and in 2019, NIFF was named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.