Chihuly, continued

Larger scale indoor works included writhing towers of glass that reached toward the greenhouse ceiling and chandeliers of spherical shapes, like this cluster of spilling balloons, above.

The Blue Reeds made a reappearance in the exterior installation at the Rockefeller Rose Garden, in Chihuly’s "Rose garden Fiori, with spherical shapes and curls set on white gravel. And yes, the white rambling roses were still in full bloom.

Other exterior installations were the quiet glass Ferns, nestled along the path to the Children’s Adventure garden, and the Blue Polyvitro Crystals, free floating hollow forms made, not of glass, but plastic.

Some of my favorite shapes were the Macchia in the Nolen Greenhouses. Each large undulating clamshell-flower cup is unique, and besides, they’re great fun to photograph. You can hold your camera up and get right in there. Macchia is Italian for "spotted" and the pieces began with Chihuly’s attempts to use all of the 300 colors of glass available to him. A layer of white opaque glass separates interior and exterior patterns.

Update: Chihuly has been working a lot with botanical gardens and conservatories of late, so if you travel, you may be able to catch other Chihuly glass/garden shows.

To see more Chihuly visit his website at: http://www.chihuly.com

Although the Chihuly exhibit at the NY Botanical Garden has been disassembled, I’d recommend the Garden for unique shopping and a beautiful walk any time of year. And by the way, the #4 subway line goes right past Yankee Stadium for a quick glimpse at the beautiful house that Ruth built… You can walk to the Garden from the Bedford Park stop or take the 26 bus from the station.