Heart of glass
It’s always a beautiful time of year at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, but it may never have looked so good with works from world-famous glass artist Dale Chihuly adding a special drawcard. Come dine with some of the people who are most passionate about the project.
The sun lowers over Adelaide Botanic Garden, and as the sky turns pale shades of pink and violet, a glow begins to illuminate some very special artworks around the iconic grounds.
Dotted through the garden are large-scale, hand-blown glass sculptures in brilliant hues of cobalt blue, fiery orange and shocking red.
They’re the works of Seattle artist Dale Chihuly and tonight, the art – and the artist – are being celebrated by some great supporters of the exhibition.
Director of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia, Michael Harvey, is hosting a dinner to mark the beginning of the exhibition, and it’s a chance for him to thank this group for their help and support.
Michael Harvey pops open a bottle of Bird in Hand Sparkling to start proceedings.
As Michael wanders the paths, taking in the sculptures – which had merely been part of his imagination for more than a year before installation – he tells SALIFE he couldn’t possibly pick a favourite piece; although, the intricate chandelier in the Palm House comes close.
The Palm House’s already-stunning 1875 architecture comes to life even more with the vivid blue tones of the intricate glass chandelier, which serendipitously mirrors the hues of the glass panels of the house.
The Chihuly exhibition is the feather in the cap of Michael’s three-and-a-half years as director of the Botanic Gardens. He began to visualise what a Chihuly exhibition might look like in Adelaide after seeing the artist’s work at the renowned Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London.
“I was aware that Dale Chihuly had built a practice over 20 years of working with gardens and, particularly, botanic gardens,” Michael says. “He’s got a longstanding interest in nature, and he’s fascinated with the way glass works with architecture and of course the gardens use glass in our architecture all the time.
“In his personal collection, he’s got this amazing set of photographs of glass conservatories from all over the world. He’s fascinated by the relationship between glass and light, glass and nature, glass and gardens, and glass and architecture.”
The idea of bringing a Chihuly exhibition to Adelaide began to form in Michael’s mind and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense, in terms of the Adelaide site aligning with the creativity of the Seattle studio.
“We reached out to the studio and said we’d be interested in a conversation about what might be possible,” Michael explains.
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As is proof tonight, what was possible was a stunning major outdoor exhibition, the first of its kind in Australia.
Guests on the night, Mary Lou Bishop, James Allen, Judy Potter, Joe Verco, Tom Moore, Daisy Miller and Susie Nugent, in front of the historic Palm House.
About a year before the exhibition came to life, several members of the Chihuly team in Seattle visited Adelaide Botanic Garden to photograph the sights, vistas and collections around the grounds. They took their images back home and set about a plan for which pieces would be best displayed across 14 locations in the grounds (there are further sculptures displayed in the Bicentennial Conservatory as part of a paid exhibition). That meticulous process has created a wonderful relationship between art and garden.
The majority of the selected sculptures were existing – but some have not been exhibited in years – with a couple of new pieces commissioned especially for Adelaide.
The communication lines between Adelaide and Seattle were running hot for an entire year, before it was time to ship the works over … and then the hard work of installation and readying the gardens themselves began.
Walking along the paths, Michael comments this is the best the garden has looked in a while. Some of the credit goes to the shift from winter into spring, but much of it is thanks to the horticultural team.
“There was a strong sense among our horticultural team that the eyes of the world would be on us for this show,” he says. “They’ve really pulled out all the stops and there’s been renewal work going on all around the garden. We do all of that anyway, but there’s been a real focus to make sure it sings this summer. That will stand us in great stead for the future; there will be a legacy out of this project that will last a long time.”
Judy Potter, Joe Verco, Daisy Miller, Tom Moore, Susie Nugent, Michael Harvey, Mary Lou Bishop and James Allen enjoy a Bird in Hand Wine in front of Dale Chihuly’s Cattails.
One of the greatest moments of excitement during the process was having the shipping containers arrive in Adelaide, and along with them, a team of seven installers from Seattle.
“To watch that happen is a jaw-dropping exercise in precision and creativity,” Michael says.
One by one, piece by piece, the installers put together every shard of glass and for the pieces that float on the lakes, they paddled out on little boats with the art and used concrete blocks to anchor it in place.
Michael says the “rockstar piece” in the collection is The Sun, a tangle of red, orange and yellow glass twists forming a raised sphere.
“This is only the second time this piece has been seen – the first time was 10 years ago in London,” Michael explains. “Chihuly has made several Suns and each one has its own character and colour palette.”
Another fiery piece is Cattails – red glass spikes that emerge from the soil. And it’s among these spikes that tonight’s guests have gathered to toast the exhibition, which we now know has already smashed visitor records at the Adelaide Botanic Garden.
Michael says one of the exhibition’s greatest supporters is Daisy Miller, who is an advisor to state tourism minister Zoe Bettison.
Daisy explains her fascination: “I was first introduced to Chihuly by my dad when an exhibition of his came to JamFactory back in 1999,” Daisy says. “I later moved to the UK and in 2006, (Chihuly’s) The Garden Cycle was in Kew Garden and I spotted the advertisement on the Tube, so I took myself on the train out to Kew to see it and I loved it.”
Then in 2019, Daisy went back over to London to see the Spice Girls perform and discovered there was another Chihuly exhibition on at the same time, and this time, she was the one introducing the works to her children.
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“I’ve seen two things that have made me cry – that was the Spice Girls, and seeing Chihuly being installed here in Adelaide,” Daisy says. “It’s such a privilege having something so significant in Adelaide, but also feels perfect because of that connection with the JamFactory.”
South Australian glass artist Tom Moore is also here to celebrate and he says he’s excited about the prospect of putting the local glass community in the spotlight. Several of Tom’s pieces, which are his response to natural form, are scattered along the table tonight.
“I really like birds, but I also like to combine different parts from animals to make imaginary creatures,” Tom says.
During the exhibition, Tom will be judging a children’s drawing competition, which encourages children to imagine a creature that might live on the Chihuly botanical forms.
The dinner menu, curated by The Lodge’s Tom Tilbury, is a nostalgic nod to the chef’s childhood, and comes complete with ingredients inspired by Adelaide Botanic Garden.
Tonight’s welcome drinks are from Bird in Hand, the wine sponsor of the exhibition. The brand’s owner, Susie Nugent, also sits on the Botanic Gardens Foundation Board, and is a great lover of art.
“Being wine sponsor was such a perfect fit for us; we absolutely love Chihuly so we’re thrilled,” Susie says. “Photos don’t do the exhibition justice – I think people are going to be shocked by how much they love it. There’s something about glass and light that is so special and it brings into focus the gardens. You start noticing a lot of other elements in the garden.”
Presiding member of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, Judy Potter, is also a guest at tonight’s dinner and says she’s proud of the team who worked so hard to bring the garden and the glass art together.
“It’s been really pleasing to see the absolute joy and love,” Judy says. “I was a bit concerned about the prospect of opening at night – would it be different enough for people? But it’s so different – the two experiences of seeing the exhibition during the day and at night are phenomenal.”
The garden by day sees the interplay of the sun and the full scope of surrounds with the art, while Chihuly Nights is an event that encourages visitors to come again after dusk to enjoy the hospitality and spectacular illumination.
Michael Harvey with perhaps his favourite piece in the Palm House
As Michael explains of the event, which runs for seven months: “These works will present differently at different times of day and different times of the year,” he says. “Coming back again and again is one of the real pleasures of this for South Australians. Of course, one of the big motivations for doing the project is that it’s a tourist drawcard. Having one of the world’s most significant current artists displaying in Adelaide is something that will draw people.”
The group chats about all their favourite pieces as Michael takes them on a walking tour; for Mary Lou Bishop, her favourite is the Palm House chandelier, closely followed by a collection of red glass reeds, which have been placed beside fallen logs brought down from the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden.
“The first time I became aware of Chihuly was in 1999 when he was displaying the red reeds in the Palm House and I thought, this is an amazing glass artist – I was blown away.”
Mary Lou is here tonight with her husband, Joe Verco, and rounding out the guestlist is another board member, James Allen from advisory firm Bentleys.
The Lodge’s chef Tom Tilbury serves dinner.
Dinner tonight is courtesy The Lodge, a relaxed restaurant that has recently opened within Botanic Garden. Chef Tom Tilbury is at the helm in the kitchen and has created a menu for the restaurant, and for tonight, that sings of nostalgia – although, there is a homely touch, with Michael’s own olive focaccia. The guests sit beside the lake, where the curious and hopeful birds sneak a look at what Tom has plated.
“Tonight’s menu is based around my own food memories, but also inspired by the gardens,” Tom says.
There are garden greens, a three-cheese pasty with mushroom dipping sauce and Gazander oysters with stone parsley and rhubarb. There’s also The Dairyman Heritage pork chops, wood-grilled cabbage and barramundi with coastal herbs. The barbecue skewers with burnt onion and beetroot are inspired by afternoons enjoying a backyard barbecue.
“My dad would always just annihilate the onions until they were burnt and pickled beetroots were always on the table,” Tom says says, recalling his family’s feasts.
Then, after dinner, it’s off for one last look at some of the artworks in their glowing glory.
This article first appeared in the December 2024 issue of SALIFE magazine.
