Dale Chihuly in Conversation with Sims Reed Gallery

SRG: Most people are very familiar with your glass sculptures, in particular the spectacular Reflections on Nature exhibition at Kew Gardens last year or the Rotunda Chandelier permanently on display at the V&A Museum. Less is known about your works on paper, which is why we are excited to explore this medium. Tell us more about this process.

DC: I started drawing as an interior design student at the University of Washington and continued to explore painting as my approach to art evolved. I used to draw to communicate ideas to my glassblowing team, and over time, painting became a practice I really got into. There’s an energy and immediacy to painting that appeals to me. It gets me out of my head and into my body. It’s physical.

SRG: How do your works on paper relate to your artistic vision

and how are they different? Do you see them as their own entity?

DC: Over the years, painting became less about communicating ideas to my glassblowing team and more about the painting process itself. I paint on paper, glass, and acrylics, so I continue to explore color, depth, and the power of light through transparent materials.

SRG: How do you feel that printmaking fits into the contemporary art narrative?