ROM's Chihuly Exhibition Review
I frequently get asked why I love visiting art exhibits so much from people who think they have no understanding of art. My answer is always the same:
It doesn't matter if you like or understand a piece of artwork, if it inspires conversation and dialogue and makes you see a different point of view or see something in a different light, it has accomplished it's goal. It is art and life would be so boring without it. I have been putting off visiting the ROM's latest giant exhibition,
Chihuly, until I was ready.
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| Persian Trellis, 2016 |
The weather had turned gloomy and the skies grey in Toronto over the
past few weeks, so I figured it was time for an art pick-me-up. Last week, I braced myself against the cold wind downtown Toronto and made my way to the ROM. It was exactly what I needed that cold Monday afternoon: bright, beautiful, uplifting, and superficial.
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| Blue and Purple Boat, 2006 |
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| Red Reeds on Logs, 2016 |
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| Persian Ceiling (detail), 2012 |
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| Persian Ceiling, 2012 |
Dale Chihuly is an American sculptor, whose glass installations can be found in over 250 museum collections. I always found his work beautiful and spectacular but without any context and not very thought provoking. Which was exactly what the exhibit was at the ROM was like - all glory with no guts. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the exhibit, it was beautiful and at times quite stunning, but did it inspire conversation beyond "it was pretty"? Not really. The artist himself stated he named the centrepiece of the show
Persian Ceiling, for no other reason than he liked it and thought "it was an exotic name". Okay dokay. I expected something with more substance from a high calibre museum like The Royal Ontario Museum, but I guess there are enough people who sometimes just need to see something pretty on a dark gloomy day.
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| Icicle Chandeliers and Towers, 2015 |
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| Laguna Torcello, 2012 |
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| Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds, 2016 |
Chihuly is running until January 8, 2017. Please visit
ROM for more details.
Have you visited Chihuly yet? What did you like best about the exhibit?
P.s!: The ROM is offering extended hours with special programming for the holidays. Please visit ROM for details.
P.s,
Melanie!
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