Chihuly’s work on display — and for sale — at Bellagio

Kimberley McGee

Monday, July 16, 2001 | 8:24 a.m.

From the delicate glass flowers installed in the ceiling of Bellagio's lobby, a relationship has blossomed.

Master glassblower Dale Chihuly created the "Fiori di Como," a colorful glass ceiling sculpture made of more than 2,000 pieces, for Bellagio's lobby in 1998.

It was his largest installation to date.

It may also turn out to be his most lucrative endeavor.

The hotel received calls on a daily basis from guests who were taken with the glass garden on the ceiling, said Andrew Hagopian, vice president of retail operations at Bellagio.

They wanted to take a piece of that beauty home, he said.

Now they can.

In partnership with Bellagio, Chihuly opened a retail store at the hotel last week.

Located in the conservatory, the 368-square-foot store will house approximately 30 pieces by the artist ranging in price from $2,500-$65,000. That's about 10 percent of the cost of his usual pieces and projects.

"Most of my stuff is pretty expensive," Chihuly said. "I made these pieces to be more affordable."

The shop will also carry drawings and prints, which start at $1,500, and posters for $15. Each piece was handpicked by Chihuly from his personal collection.

"I have a lot to choose from," Chihuly said. "These (drawings) are mostly a study of color and form for (glass) pieces."

The stocky 59-year-old artist continues to produce more than 1,000 pieces of glass art each year at his studio, the Boathouse, which is tucked under a bridge along the banks of Seattle's waterfront.

Video tapes, calendars and books detailing Chihuly's many art installations around the world, such as the "Chandeliers" in Venice and "Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000" at the city's Tower of David Museum, are also available at the store.

The free-form flower pieces featured at the store were inspired by the ceiling sculpture. Titled "Bellagio Additions," the pieces will be made by Chihuly specifically to be sold in the Las Vegas store.

"A lot of people were asking about the ceiling pieces," Chihuly said. "That's what gave us the idea."

Chihuly recently exhibited more than 300 pieces of glass art at the Las Vegas Art Museum. It was one of the most successful exhibits the museum has had in its four-year history at the West Sahara Avenue location, James Mann, curator of the LVAM, said.

This year Chihuly lost 10 pieces valued at about $40,000 each in the Seattle earthquake on Feb. 28.

But setbacks don't seem to break this man.

He overcame a debilitating car crash in 1976 in which he lost his left eye and permanently damaged his right ankle and foot. Later that year he badly dislocated his shoulder and could no longer manage the intense physical labor of blowing large pieces of glass.

He turned the work over to a group of nearly 20 assistants, who follow his instruction and breathe life into his creations.

Although he no longer blows the glass himself, Chihuly is not an idle man.

The Bellagio store is one of many endeavors that Chihuly has embarked upon recently.

A 3,500-ton "Chihuly Bridge of Glass" in Tacoma, Wash., is scheduled for completion next summer. The $12 million project will lead to the Tacoma Museum of Glass.

Exhibits of his glass work are also scheduled to be shown at museums in London and New York.

"That's a lot of glass," Chihuly said. "I stay busy."

The Las Vegas locale is ideal for his jet-setting lifestyle, he said. He spends an average of 240 days a year on the road, travelling to his installations and exhibits around the world.

"I love Las Vegas," he said. "The variety of people is interesting. And I love to shop, and I love the restaurants, the hotels are really nice. Everything's here."

Are there plans for a future store in another international city?

"I don't think there is a comparable city to Las Vegas," Chihuly said. "It makes sense for me to be here."

Bellagio agreed.

"I approached him about the store and it was just a natural thing to have him here," Hagopian said. "The kind of feedback that we had from guests said we should have a store."

Within the first hour of opening Thursday, tourists were snapping photos of the gallery and two pieces totalling $5,500 had sold to two Texas tourists.

Steve and Ann Mayer of Dallas wandered into the gallery store last week just after the doors opened for the first time.

"My wife has been an admirer of Chihuly for 15 years," Steve Mayer, a businessman, said. The couple chose to stay at Bellagio because of the Chihuly installation in the lobby.

"We came to see the ceiling," Ann Mayer said. "We didn't know that this (store) was here. It's wonderful."

The couple bought a $4,000 green-glass piece, titled "Persian Basket," and a $1,500 print for their living room.

"We had a Zulu basket made for that space but I think it just lost out," Steve Mayer said, "now that we have a Chihuly."