Louise Irvine
I was delighted to meet Irene Schyberger and hear about her fascinating experience with Chihuly in Finland. She has gifted WMODA the artist’s portfolio, which commemorates Chihuly’s 1995 visit to the tiny Finnish village of Nuutajarvi with his glassblowing team, when he began making chandeliers for his epic Chihuly Over Venice project. We are very grateful that Irene has chosen to share her cherished possession with a wider audience through WMODA.
The inscription on the opening page explains that “This portfolio is dedicated to the glassworkers and citizens of Nuutajarvi. Thank you for the use of your glasshouse, your landscape, and your river.” Dale Chihuly. He further personalized the portfolio, “For Irene with Love.”
The loose-leaf portfolio includes 26 color photographs by Russell Johnson documenting the Chihuly creations that temporarily transformed the Finnish landscape into a magical land, with chandeliers swaying above lakes and glass “belugas” bobbing in the river. Also included are reproductions of Chihuly’s drawings that inspired the glass art, along with faxes Chihuly sent to describe that “wild and wonderful” time in Finland, when the summer sun never truly set and the energy of the 40 Americans and their Finnish collaborators never dimmed.
Irene fondly remembers the experience. “The most amazing thing was the glass workers’ work ethic. They worked close to 20 hours a day while playing very loud rock music that echoed all over the village. After inspecting the newly produced pieces, Dale decided which ones were not perfect and had them smashed into pieces. I also recall how incredibly difficult it was to install the exhibit out in nature among trees and creeks. The enthusiasm was palpable and the energy level was very high all through the project. Great memories of Dale – he was the true inspirational leader and creative glass genius!”
The Nuutajarvi factory, where Chihuly and his team worked, is Finland’s oldest glassworks, founded in 1793. In the 1990s, Hackman, the Finnish housewares company, owned the glassworks, which became world famous for modernist designs by Finnish masters. The Hackman factory’s tall ceilings and large annealing ovens allowed the Chihuly team to pull their first elongated glass “Reeds” or “Spears,” which they staged like teepees in the woods. They hung chandeliers over the local river and tossed glass pieces into the water, anticipating his “Rivers of Glass.” Recovering a rowboat from the river and filling it with blown glass launched Chihuly’s iconic boat installation series.
The Nuutajarvi glassworks was the first of three international collaborations for the dramatic Chihuly Over Venice project. Chihuly and his team also worked at Waterford in Ireland and Monterrey in Mexico, culminating in the installation of 14 massive chandeliers across Venice’s canals and plazas in September 1996. Two were made in Finland : the one installed at Rio delle Torri is now in the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the one at Chiostro di Sant Apollonia has been exhibited at the de Young Museum in San Francisco and the Columbus Museum of Art. Chihuly reprised his Chihuly Over Venice project for a spectacular exhibition at the Columbus Museum in 1998, and Irene has also donated the small loose-leaf catalog to WMODA.
Irene’s gifts are particularly well timed as Chihuly returned to Italy this year to mark the 30th anniversary of his groundbreaking Chihuly Over Venice project. Thank you, Irene, for sharing your prized portfolio with us to share with other Chihuly fans.
Read more…
Chihuly: Venice 2026
