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Sunday, November 27, 2016

Exhibit: ROM's Chihuly is All Glory with No Guts!

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.

Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Persian Trellis
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.

Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Blue and Purple Boat
Blue and Purple Boat, 2006
Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Red Reeds on Logs
Red Reeds on Logs, 2016
Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Persian Ceiling
Persian Ceiling (detail), 2012
Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Persian Ceiling
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.

Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Icicle Chandeliers and Towers
Icicle Chandeliers and Towers, 2015
Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Laguna Torcello
Laguna Torcello, 2012
Chihuly, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Exhibit, exhibition, culture, art, artmatters, glass blowing, american, sculptor, canada, the purple scarf, melanie.ps, Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds
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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