Dale Chihuly debuts new glass towers at Venice Biennale

Dale Chihuly returned to Venice on May 5 with a new exhibition timed to the 2026 Venice Biennale, placing three monumental glass works along the Grand Canal and opening an archival center at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. (chihuly.com) The project, titled CHIHULY: Venice 2026, marks 30 years since Chihuly Over Venice, the 1995-96 undertaking that suspended the artist’s chandeliers across the city. Chihuly Studio says the new exhibition is presented by Pilchuck Glass School and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. (pilchuck.org) The Biennale’s main 2026 art exhibition, In Minor Keys, opened to the public on May 9. ### Why is Chihuly back in Venice now? The 2026 exhibition is tied directly to an anniversary. Chihuly’s official exhibition page and Pilchuck Glass School both say the show was organized to mark the 30th anniversary of Chihuly Over Venice. Pilchuck says Chihuly first went to Venice in 1968 as a Fulbright scholar and worked at the Venini factory on Murano. That period, the school says, helped shape the artist’s later practice and his ties to Venetian glassmaking. Chihuly said in exhibition materials distributed by e-flux that the three new sculptures are “a tribute to the city” that has inspired him for six decades. (chihuly.com) ### What exactly is in the new exhibition? Three new outdoor works form the center of the show. Chihuly’s exhibition page says they are installed along the Grand Canal, while My Art Guides says all three are visible from the Accademia Bridge. (chihuly.com) Pilchuck identifies one of those works as Gold Tower, a 2025 sculpture measuring 31 feet high, installed at Palazzo Franchetti. E-flux lists a second as Blue and Green Tower, also from 2025, at Palazzo Balbi Valier, and a third as End of the Day Chandelier, from 2025, at Palazzo Querini alla Carità. (pilchuck.org) My Art Guides separately describes Gold Tower as a 30-foot work, indicating the sources round the height differently. ### What is inside Palazzo Loredan? The indoor component opened at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti at Palazzo Loredan. (chihuly.com) Chihuly’s exhibition page says the space includes an interpretive and archival center curated by Suzanne Geiss. My Art Guides says the center includes drawings, photographs, videos and documentation tracing Chihuly’s process and the making of Chihuly Over Venice. E-flux also lists archival material from 1994-96 and installed works including Celadon Baskets. (pilchuck.org) ### Is this an official Biennale exhibition? La Biennale di Venezia says Biennale Arte 2026 runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with pre-opening on May 6-8, at the Giardini, the Arsenale and other locations across Venice. Chihuly’s show opened on May 5, which places it in Biennale week rather than inside the Biennale’s main curated exhibition, based on the dates and venue information published by La Biennale and Chihuly’s organizers. (chihuly.com) The Chihuly materials say the exhibition opened “concurrent with the Venice Biennale” and, according to Pilchuck and e-flux, is also associated with The Venice Glass Week 2026. (myartguides.com) Neither the Chihuly exhibition page nor the Biennale pages reviewed here describe it as part of the Biennale’s central exhibition In Minor Keys. ### Who is presenting the project? Pilchuck Glass School and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park are the named presenters across the exhibition materials. Leslie Jackson Chihuly, identified by e-flux as president and CEO of Chihuly Studio and project director of the 1996 Venice project, said the anniversary offered a chance to revisit the city that “transformed Dale’s life and career.” (labiennale.org) Suzanne Geiss is the named curator of the interpretive and archival center. The exhibition site lists the venue as Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco 2945, at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. (pilchuck.org) ### How long can visitors see it? CHIHULY: Venice 2026 runs from May 5 to November 14, 2026, according to Chihuly’s exhibition page, Pilchuck and e-flux. My Art Guides lists opening hours for the indoor center as Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Biennale Arte 2026 continues one week longer, through November 22, 2026, according to La Biennale di Venezia. (chihuly.com) That leaves Chihuly’s Venice project on view through most of the Biennale’s run, with the archival center at Palazzo Loredan and the three outdoor works remaining the main public touchpoints for visitors through mid-November. (myartguides.com) (labiennale.org)