“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” –James Joyce
In 1975 glass artist Dale Chihuly MFA 68 CR worked with painter Seaver Leslie 69 PT to create a series of glass cylinders embellished with pen and ink drawings inspired by the James Joyce masterpiece Ulysses. When Chihuly and Leslie traveled to Europe for a lecture tour in support of the work, they got in a head-on car collision in England that prevented them from traveling on to Ireland and left Chihuly blind in one eye.
More than 40 years later, the two decided to revisit the ill-fated body of work, this time working with gold leaf and once again involving artists Flora C. Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick. The stunning result opens in Ireland today with a show called Ulysses Cylinders, on view through August 23 at the Coach House at Dublin Castle. The exhibition kicks off with a public conversation about Ulysses, after which the artists are signing copies of the exhibition catalogue (which includes supporting essays by Irish authors).
From the original 1975 Irish Cylinders collection
In conjunction with the show, Chihuly is also exhibiting signature work – including pieces from his Persian, Macchia, Seaform, Jerusalem and Soft Cylinder series – at Dublin’s Solomon Fine Art from June 20 through July 31.
Forsythia Yellow Persian Set with Raven Lip Wraps (2012, 33x53x41cm)