Tim Close has been the director of the Museum of Glass since 2007.
While the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, has a couple works by Dale Chihuly in its small but growing permanent collection, visitors to the museum arriving at Union Station cannot help but experience the work of Seattle’s most famous artist as they are showered in colored light filtered through the ceiling of the “Seaform Pavillion” as they make their way across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass that leads to the museum. With other work exhibited in the bridge’s “Venetian Wall” and “Crystal Towers,” a visit to the Museum of Glass is partly an encounter with Chihuly’s artwork, and no doubt part of the draw for tourists. Will some of these same tourists choose to go to the proposed new Chihuly museum at the foot of the Space Needle instead? In a telephone interview with the Hot Sheet, the Museum of Glass’s director Tim Close said he hopes that the “Chihuly Center” (as he refers to the proposed Chihuly museum) will compliment the Museum of Glass’s operations rather than compete with it.
“Dale’s name is synonymous with the area,” said Close. “Tacoma is his hometown, but people come here because of the Museum of Glass, which is making a brand for itself by having a hotshop where artists are working every day of the week, and by the exhibitions we have. Yes, there’s the Bridge of Glass, but we also have outdoor work by Martin Blank among other artists.”
The "Seaform Pavillion" along the Chihuly Bridge of Glass leads visitors to the Museum of Glass.
Close said the museum has been informed about the proposal for a Chihuly Center but was not participating in the planning of it in any way. “We have positive relations with Chihuly Studios and with Dale himself,” he added.
Close talks about potential opportunities for the two organizations to work together. “We offer different programs,” he says. “Our hot shop is a major draw to see glass in context, as well as our exhibitions. I think there’s a chance to compliment, and again, being the greater Seattle-Tacoma region, there are a lot of people for both organizations to draw from.”
Asked if he was a supporter of the project, Close said “I’m wishing the best for Dale. I think they’ll be successful. I support his project.”