CHIHULY AT THE ROYAL
BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW

For his first botanical garden exhibition outside of the United States, Dale Chihuly indulges his perpetual fascination with glasshouses by installing an elaborate collection of glass at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Inside grand Victorian conservatories and amongst outdoor plant collections, these twenty-five installations come together to transform completely the 132-hectare (some 325 acres) World Heritage Site. Elaborate orange and yellow Asymmetrical Towers accent the entrance to Kew's elegant Palm House and a brilliant Sun adorns the modern Princess of Wales Conservatory. Brightly colored Walla Wallas rest in an outdoor lake and graceful Herons rise from a calm waterlily pond. Many other works nestle within planting beds to surprise visitors expecting to see purely botanical beauty. Altogether, these vivid colors and otherworldly shapes placed against Kew's magnificent landscape make the Gardens of Glass: Chihuly at Kew exhibition a captivating and memorable experience.

Chihuly at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew features more than one hundred photographs that capture this event and Chihuly's previous exhibitions in locations around the world. The book also contains a chronicle of the rich history of the gardens and the evolution of its design over the centuries, while an an essay by Todd Alden gives conceptual insight into the exhibition.

Todd Alden is a writer and artist living in New York whose work frequently examines or practices the art of collecting. He has written books with or about Ted Donald, RenŽ Magritte, Tom Sachs, Sonic Youth, and Cindy Sherman (unpublished to date) and has published essays on Artists'Ephemera, Marcel Broodthaers, New York Dada, Lot-Ek, Werner Panton, Real Photo Postcards, Sophie Calle, Bricolage, and the legacy of Gordon Pym. He is currently working on a book on Belgian gastronomy.

2005 hardcover
7 x 10"
160 pages, 102 color reproductions
ISBN 13: 978-1-57684-153-2
ISBN 10: 1-57684-153-7
Published by Portland Press, Seattle

• Also see the Kew DVD.
• There is also a Gardens & Glass book, DVD, note cards, and postcards.
• For photos, video and essays about Chihuly exhibitions in garden settings, including Chihuly at Kew, visit the Gardens and Glass section of the Chihuly website.