STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Dale Chihuly is considered one of the most innovative and iconic figures in contemporary art. This November, Schantz Galleries has worked with Chihuly Studio to realize an exhibition, CHIHULY Baskets: Celebrating Forty Years. These forty years of Baskets are not a linear progression, where one builds upon the next until superiority is achieved; rather they are a collection of transcendent moments through time. In addition to the exhibition of Baskets, a new, beautiful Chandelier and a Persian Wall by the artist was installed in October.

Dale Chihuly first encountered traditional Northwest Indian basketry in 1977, during a visit to the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. He was a young vanguard in the field of glass (he had become the head of the glass program at Rhode Island School of Design and cofounded the Pilchuck School of Glass in Washington by age 30). Chihuly was enthralled by how time had transformed the woven baskets into bowed and slumping objects. This touchpoint precipitated a breakthrough not only in Chihuly’s forms but also in his techniques for achieving them. He harnessed the interconnected powers of heat, gravity, centrifugal force, breath, and glass to achieve impossible thinness and dynamic asymmetry.

Chihuly has stated: “Baskets was the first series that I did that really took advantage of the molten properties of the glassblowing process. Now, for the first time, I really felt I was breaking new ground with an ancient technique.”

Chihuly’s solo exhibition venues have included the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. His work is in the permanent collections of more than 200 museums worldwide.

Schantz Galleries is a destination for those seeking contemporary art by premier artists working in the medium of glass. Located at 3 Elm St. in Stockbridge, Mass., the gallery has established itself as one of the leading contemporary art glass galleries. CHIHULY Baskets: Celebrating Forty Years is open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 30, 2017.