Dale Chihuly & LongHouse Reserve at 20
The White Hot and Blue 20th Anniversary celebration at the LongHouse Reserve was last night in East Hampton NY. Jack Lenor Larsen and the countless people who staged this event were favored with a perfect evening. Even the weather cooperated!
The event started off in a unique way with performers from the Big Apple Circus scattered around the grounds. We were greeted by this performer as we entered the garden.
Philanthropist Barbara Slifka was honored by the LongHouse Reserve. The Principals from the New York City Ballet made the journey east to perform in celebration of Barbara and her generosity over the years. Ballet in the open air was a real treat!
The highlight for me was the Dale Chihuly installation of Blue and Purple Boat, 2006. I had been approached by the team at the longhouse about moving my bench so that it would have a better relationship to the floating sculpture. I made my way over to the LongHouse in about 5 minutes to move my bench! Here are the results.
Bench #4 with Dale Chihuly Purple and Blue Boat, 2006
From the LHR about Dale Chihuly:
Creative genius, Dale Chihuly (b. 1941), is the most innovative and influential American artist working in glass today. Introduced to the medium while studying interior design at the University of Washington, Chihuly is the quintessential force behind the movement to change the very dimension and definition of blown glass into a large-scale art form. He revolutionized the oeuvre from solo studio-glass practitioner to that of using a collaborative team to help him produce his work. His dramatic and colorfully amorphous art forms attract a world-wide audience.
I hope that my mirror sold at the auction! Thanks you LongHouse for a fabulous evening!
By Nico Yektai -New York based designer/maker Nico Yektai opened the doors to his Hamptons studio in 1995 after completing the MFA program at the School For American Craft at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The rigorous technical training complimented his background in Art History, which he studied, at Hobart College in Geneva NY. Yektai has synthesized this background into a singular style that has gained him national attention. Visit nicoyektai.com for more information
