Chihuly Seaforms

In Chihuly: Seaforms, Artforum art critic Joan Seeman Robinson discusses Chihuly's most exquisite and ethereal series, invoking the spontaneous automatic drawings of the Surrealists, the water lilies of Claude Monet, the action painting of Jackson Pollock, and, most cogently, Henri Matisse's Swimming Pool. Oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle, former Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, finds in Chihuly's evocative Seaforms not only "reflections of skill, passion, teamwork and sheer genius" but also "tributes" to the sea. Together these writers help to illuminate what many consider Chihuly's quintessential series, which was begun in 1980. The saturated color of the 40 full-color pages, including many double-page spreads, conveys the sensuousness of Chihuly's glass works and drawings; the effect is heightened by the use of Job Parilux Silk Paper. The elegant and straightforward design of the book and the use of white Adobe GillSans type on black creates a striking showcase for Chihuly's vital Seaforms that "seem to arrest the ineffable" in Robinson's view. A succinct chronology traces the artist's career to 1995.


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