A walk through Chihuly in the Desert Exhibition at Desert Botanical Garden

I am so excited to take you on a walk through one of my favorite places, the Desert Botanical Garden, and see the exhibit Chihuly in the Desert.

This is the third time that Chihuly has come to the garden in the 15 years I have lived in Arizona. The first time was in 2008, then in 2013 and this exhibit that just completed it's 6 month run. This time I decided to get the most out of my membership and went often-- 26 times in fact!

11 of them were on Wednesday morning. On Wednesdays the garden is open an hour earlier for members, so I could go before work! So this is the ultimate #Wednesdaywalk!

The Best of Chihuly in the Desert from January to June 2022.

The garden has a beautiful entrance. When you come from the parking lot you go through the Schilling Entry Arbor

Between the arbor and the entrance there is a great collection of plants.

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Desert Towers

This wonderful Chihuly art is a legacy piece from the 2008 exhibit and is just outside the entrance for all to see and admire.

For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Bonus- Desert Towers

Now we are heading to the entrance

Here is a map of the exhibit that we will follow through the garden.

Note: For all the pieces I will include a link to a post with more info and pictures about the piece.

Number 1- Fiori Boat

This colorful and whimsical boat makes a great entrance piece. Just to the right is the gift shop and restaurant. You can also see the red rock mountains of Papago Park in the distance.

Dale Chihuly
Fiori Boat, 2018
6½ x 17 x 10' (1.98m x 5.18m x 3.04m)
Blown glass and wooden boat
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Fiori is Italian for flower. The boat is filled with so many amazing glass flowers.

For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Fiori Boat

Number 2- Blue Birch Reeds and Scorpion Tails

Not far from the Fiori Boat you come up to this gorgeous blue work of art! It is set in a Compass barrel cactus garden. There are cholla, prickly pear, and ocotillo right behind it. The smoothness of the glass and its curves and lines are quite a contrast to the cacti surrounding it.

Dale Chihuly
Blue Birch Reeds and Scorpion Tails, 2021
9' x 16' x 14½' (2.74m x 4.87m x 4.41m)
Blown glass
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

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For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Blue Birch Reeds and Scorpion Tails

Here is the entrance to the Desert Wildflower Loop trail. It was so fun in spring with so many flowers in bloom.

Number 3- Opal and Amber Tower

The Opal and Amber tower is the only sculpture located on the Desert Wildflower Loop trail.

Dale Chihuly
Opal and Amber Tower, 2018
14' x 8.5' x 8.5' (4.26m x 2.59m x 2.59m)
Blown Glass and Steel
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

I had so much fun taking pictures of the white and gold against the blue sky.

For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Opal and Amber Tower

Here is another look at the map. We are going to back track a little and go the Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust Desert Terrace Garden to see Number 4 Lime and Lava Red Tower.

Number 4- Lime and Lava Red Tower

Here you see how big the tower is compared to the people.

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At 16 feet (4.87 meters) high this piece is very impressive.

Dale Chihuly
Lime and Lava Red Tower, 2021
16' x 8' x 7½' (4.87m x 2.43m x 2.28m)
Blown glass and steel
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Lime and Lava Red Tower

Lewis Desert Portal
This portal is a more recent upgrade to the garden. I really like. It feels magical walking down this path.

We now be going on the Desert Discovery Loop Trail counter clockwise and see numbers 5, 6 and 7- Neodymium Reeds, Red Reeds and Sol del Citron.

Number 5- Neodymium Reeds

This is a very fun piece of art which is surprising for how simple the concept is. The colors changed with the the light and there were so many different rods that it was really a pleasure to photograph. Oh, and those agave!

Dale Chihuly
Neodymium Reeds, 2021
Blown Glass
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Neodymium Reeds

The entrance to the Steele Herb Garden. Very beautiful. No Chihuly in there, so we'll save it for another time.

Number 6- Red Reeds

The shape of the Red Reeds are very similar to Neodymium Reeds. They are arranged differently and that makes for a whole new experience with them. Oh and the color...it looks like fire.

Dale Chihuly
Red Reeds , 2018
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

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For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Red Reeds

Number 7- Sol del Citron

What an impressive piece! It is made up of 1,483 of glass pieces and is 15.5 feet (4.7 meters) tall! It was so fun to watch people come around the corner and see it.

Dale Chihuly
Sol del Citron, 2014
Blown glass and steel
15½ x 13 x 13' (4.7 m x 3.96 m x 3.96 m)
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

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For more pictures and info see Art talk: Sol del Citron

So many trails to explore all throughout the garden.

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Let's continue on the Discovery loop to 8 and 9- Desert Fiori and Aqua Blue and Amber Chandelier.

Number 8- Desert Fiori

This piece is special to me. It was the first one that I stayed at and studied for an extended period of time, around 30 minutes. That is quite long when I was used to just walking up and taking pictures and moving to the next piece. I stayed an looked at it closely and I listened to what other visitors were saying about it. I also took a few pictures for people in front of it. The colors are striking together.

Dale Chihuly
Desert Fiori , 2021
Blown Glass
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Here it is with the gorgeous Palo Verde in bloom behind it.

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For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Desert Fiori

Number 9- Aqua Blue and Amber Chandelier

I really like how Chihuly doesn't let the fact that there is not a ceiling stop him from putting a chandelier in the garden! It is beautiful.

Dale Chihuly
Aqua Blue and Amber Chandelier , 2011
11½ x 6½ x 6' (3.5m x 1.98m x 1.82m)
Blown glass and Steel
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

The colors and textures and movement are all incredible.

For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Aqua Blue and Amber Chandelier

The way the garden is set up it makes sense to get off the trail here and go to 12 Chihuly in the Desert Gallery.

Chihuly in the Desert Gallery

The gallery was open from 8am-8pm. I often went to the garden early in the morning, before work, so I didn't go in the gallery every time. I do love the big glass sculptures, they are wonderful and impressive. The smaller items in the gallery are so incredible too.

There are Macchias, Paintings and drawings, Rotolos, Mille Fiori, Persians and Venetians
I highly encourage checking out the individual posts as most have videos of how the piece is made (blown)!

I enjoyed every visit to the gallery, especially in the summer months!

Let's get our map out again. We are going to go to 10 and 11 which are in the Sybil B Harrington Cactus and Succulent Galleries

Number 10- Sonoran Neon

This is very different from the Chihuly that I am used to. He must be getting adventurous in his old age. He is 80 years old now and working with abstract squiggles and neon colors.

Dale Chihuly
Sonoran Neon, 2021
Neon glass and acrylic
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

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I also got some really great ICMs with @laurabellamy of Sonoran Neon.

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For more pictures and info see Art Talk: Sonoran Neon

Number 11- Paintbrushes

Across the gallery is another enclosure and in it are the Paintbrushes. It was great to see this glass with all the cacti contrasting and fitting in so beautifully.

Dale Chihuly
Paintbrushes, 2021
blown glass
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Amy Jo and I stopped for a quick photo op on one of the many benches throughout the garden on the way to the front of the garden. You can see Paintbrushes behind us.

I loved watching the plants change and grow and seeing the Chihuly glass in all types of light during this 6 months. I went both by myself (26 times) and I took lots (16) of other people with me. That was the best year membership savings ever. The year membership cost $79 and I got guest passes and a free guest each time. I figured that at $30 each visit that I saved $700 for myself and $450 more for my guests for a total savings of $1150! Yay for me. And it is only half the year. It is now too hot to want to walk outside in Arizona. When it cools down in late October- November. I will go a few more times.

It has been my own garden of Eden this year.

I was so happy I could share this desert botanical garden and Chihuly with so many people, including you!

Art Talk Series Highlights

2022
Theme: Artists
Art Talk: Yoyoi Kusama
Art Talk: Heloise Crista
Art Talk: Chihuly on Paper
Art Talk: Etel Adnan
Art Talk: Vasily Kandinsky

Other
Art Talk: Stained Glass Windows at the National Cathedral
ICM at the DBG

Art Talk: 2021 Posts
Art Talk: 2020 Posts
Art Talk: 2019 Posts
Art Talk: 2018 Posts