OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) has one of the largest Dale Chihuly blown glass displays in the world and starting Saturday some new pieces will be on display.

“Chihuly Then and Now: The Collection at Twenty” will open June 18.

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Organizers say it will feature new works on loan from Chihuly Studio in Seattle and from the Seattle Art Museum, as well as visitor favorites from the museum’s permanent collection.

The original pieces were originally on loan to the museum as it opened in 2002. However, they were so popular that in 2004 the museum purchased the glass collection with the help of more than 500 donors.

“I have developed new work in the last 20 years that has not yet been shown in Oklahoma City,” said artist Dale Chihuly.

OKCMOA posted “There is perhaps no more fitting way for OKCMOA to celebrate their 20th year in their location than by expanding and reimagining their Chihuly exhibit.”

“Chihuly Then and Now” features works not currently in OKCMOA’s collection, such as:

• “Navajo Blanket Cylinders” – In his first major glass series, Chihuly was inspired by the colors and patterns of blankets woven by members of the Diné (Navajo) tribe.
• “Soft Cylinders” – This series combines the aesthetics of “Navajo Blanket Cylinders” with the more relaxed forms and gentle curves of the “Baskets.” “Venetians” – The “Venetians” have a traditional vase-like central form with exuberant decorative attachments, such as coils and twisted ribbons.
• “Rotolo” – Started in 2013, the heavy and complex “Rotolo” (Italian for “coil”) sculptures evolved from the spiraling forms found in Chihuly’s “Venetians.” “Glass on Glass” – Comprised of glass panels that are painted with vitreous enamel, Chihuly’s “Glass on Glass” works demonstrate his ongoing exploration of the transmission of light through transparent media.
• “Chihuly Merletto” – Chihuly’s latest body of work was inspired by the ancient Venetian technique called “merletto” (Italian for lace) in which white cane is used to create lace-like patterns.

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