Presented by Pilchuck Glass School and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
May 5–November 14, 2026
Venice 30124
Italy
Thirty years after transforming the city and its canals with his groundbreaking Chihuly Over Venice project, world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly returns to the source of his inspiration with CHIHULY: Venice 2026. Presented by Pilchuck Glass School and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, CHIHULY: Venice 2026 will be anchored by three dramatic new sculptures installed along the Grand Canal, celebrating the artist’s enduring dialogue with the city that fundamentally shaped his career. The installations will be accompanied by an interpretive and archival center curated by Suzanne Geiss, housed at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti at Palazzo Loredan. The exhibition opens May 5, concurrent with the Venice Biennale and in association with Venice Glass Week 2026, closing on November 14, 2026.
“These three new sculptures are a tribute to the city that's inspired me for the last 60 years. It’s an honor to be back in this beautiful city that has had such an impact on who I am as an artist,” said artist Dale Chihuly.
The three new outdoor works, all viewable from the top of the Accademia Bridge, incorporate new forms to extend the formal vocabulary Chihuly first began developing in Venice and then over the course of his nearly 60-year career.
“What better time to revisit the city that transformed Dale’s life and career than on the 30th anniversary of Chihuly Over Venice? It will be a chance to reflect on his legacy, the impact he has had, and the inspiration we have all received from this remarkable city,” said Leslie Jackson Chihuly, President and CEO of Chihuly Studio, and Project Director of the Venice project in 1996.
The Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti at Palazzo Loredan presents the archival record of Chihuly Over Venice alongside objects and documentation spanning Chihuly’s broader practice. Photographs, faxes, production notes, and film trace the collaborative process behind the 1996 project—the international glassblowing sessions, the logistical coordination, and the installation of fourteen monumental Chandeliers throughout the city.
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American artist who transforms spaces with experiments in color, light, transparency, and form. He is known for his exhibitions and large-scale architectural installations around the world and for revolutionizing the studio glass movement. Chihuly works with a variety of media including glass, paint, charcoal, neon, ice and Polyvitro, and his work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, including Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
