Chihuly at New York Botanical Garden: Dazzling Glass

As I walk the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden, I admire a towering white tree. Bursts of fire-engine red emanate from its center, the tree’s slender white branches curling like Medusa as they reach for the sky. But this rare, glorious tree, situated on 250 acres of garden grounds, is not what you think. The 15-foot tree is entirely made of glass and is the creation of master glass artist, Dale Chihuly. Together with more than 20 other glass installations, it’s part of an open-air exhibition of the artist’s work that runs through October 29, 2017, the first such exhibit in New York by the artist in more than a decade. The installations become more vivid still in “Chihuly Nights” when glasswork becomes iridescent, dramatically illuminated under the evening sky and complemented by performing artists and musicians on garden grounds.

New York’s Verdant Oasis

The New York Botanical Garden is a lush oasis within easy reach of Manhattan, a 20-minute train ride from Grand Central Station or accessible via subway. Over one million people visit the garden yearly, which has a history dating back more than 125 years. But don’t expect to feel closed-in by crowds. Even on the busiest of days there are endless trails and scenic spots that allow for quiet solitude and reflection.

I stroll the garden grounds on a sunny day. At every turn there seems to be another surprising Chihuly glass sculpture. There’s an enormous blue and white flower…or perhaps it’s a star fallen from the sky? Aqua bits of glacier-glass float in a fountain…or are they ice cubes to cool off steamy New York summer days? Among plants in the indoor conservatory, I see swaying rods of light purple-colored glass, surely resembling lavender fields in the South of France. The interpretation is left to the beholder or, alternatively, visitors can rely on interactive guides to relay Chihuly’s inspiration via handheld devices at various installations.

Those unfamiliar with Chihuly’s work quickly become entranced. Dale Chihuly, a Tacoma-born American artist, is renowned for his translucent site-specific installations that have graced public spaces the world over. He enrolled in the country’s first university glass program in 1965 at the University of Wisconsin, and from there went on to the Rhode Island School of Design where he established its own glass program. He then finessed his skills at a glass factory in Venice, Italy, learning glass-blowing techniques that became integral to his works today, which are considered among the world’s greatest avant-garde fine art in the glass medium.

Flowers for All Seasons

While the current Chihuly exhibition is entrancing, that’s not to say the New York Botanical Garden isn’t worth every minute of strolling just for its grounds alone. Different sections unfold flowers at varying times of the growing season, from spring through fall, so there is always something “new.” I meander the grounds with a friend who’s a garden member. She tells me I missed the amazing annual orchid exhibition in April when, at the same time, thousands of daffodils created a vast, yellow-blooming carpet among the grounds’ low, rolling hills. Not that I should be too disappointed, as I catch the Azalea Garden in full bloom in May with dozens of hues to the azaleas and rhododendrons. Some are fuschia, magenta or velvety red; others are creamsicle-colored or snowy white. I see the rose garden just beginning to perk up, and among its finely manicured paths, I imagine it must be the perfect place for a wedding.

There are old-forest woodlands with bubbling streams, and an old tobacco mill speaks to the history of this area a century earlier (the tobacco was churned with rose petals to make snuff). Dramatic metamorphic rock formations add bold elements to the otherwise tranquil scenery through which I wander. And then there’s the indoor Haupt Conservatory, a soaring Victorian-style greenhouse that is a glass work of art itself. Within are tropical, temperate, and desert flora and fauna with water lilies and lotus plants flowering among the courtyards (mid-July through mid-September). The Botanical Garden has also amassed more than 7.8 million plant specimens for its herbarium—among the four largest in the world—and is highly dedicated to research and conservation programs, stewarding the American landscape.

Through October, however, the main attraction at the Botanical Garden is Chihuly’s impression on the living landscape. Aside from Chihuly Nights with its music and fanfare, there are countless weekend family-fun activities such as young poet readings, glass fire-working demonstrations, lawn games, yoga-rama for kids and families, short films on Chihuly’s creative process, and more. I’m content to just take in the sweeping flora vistas, breathe in the aromas, and contemplate nature’s inspiration to the magical glass formations before me.