Suspended from the ceiling, this colorful work of
art by artist Dale Chihuly was originally part of an
exhibition where 15 of these enormous chandeliers
were placed under bridges and across Venetian canals
as a tribute to the biennale Aperto Vetro. Measuring
14 feet tall by eight feet wide, the chandelier is made
up of 520 blown glass objects attached to a metal
frame called an armature. You might notice shapes
that remind you of horns, split leaves, water drops,
or goosenecks – the same names the artist uses to
identify each one. These shapes weave in and out, and
together they form one large cone shape extending
downward to a point barely above visitors’ heads.
Even though most of the chandelier is made of hollow
glass, the final work weighs over 2,000 pounds.