GLASS ACT Dale Chihuly’s Infectious Venice Spires

Another, perhaps more straightforward presentation in Venice this year represents a different set of prominent, if contestable, American values. CHIHULY: Venice 2026, a presentation of three monumental sculptures by Seattle-based artist Dale Chihuly, exemplifies an American fixation with grand scale and bold expression, even at the risk of excess. It also reveals a simultaneous collaboration with, and rejection of, nature, alongside an insistence on pursuing a singular, sometimes controversial vision of beauty and perfection.