The highly anticipated return of Chihuly’s The Sun outside the MMFA
Dale Chihuly (born in 1941), The Sun, from the series “Chandeliers & Towers,” 2003, blown glass, steel, 274.3 x 177.8 x 177.8 cm. MMFA, purchase, gifts of J. Sebastian van Berkom, Marcel and Caroline Elefant, an anonymous donor, Jacqueline Desmarais, Sun Life Financial, John A. and Phyllis Rae, Polaroid Eyewear, New Look Eyewear and the thousands of Museum visitors and members who contributed to this acquisition. © Dale Chihuly / SOCAN (2021). Foreground: Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003), Cloaked Figure IX, 1978, cast 1989. MMFA, gift of the children of Simha and Maurice S. Peress in honour of their parents. Photo MMFA, Denis Farley
Good news: the iconic sculpture The Sun (2003) by Dale Chihuly is fanning its rays once more on the steps of the MMFA’s Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion.
For several summers, the monumental work – which measures nearly 5 metres in diameter, comprises 1,347 rays of blown glass and weighs over two tonnes – was a daily delight to Museum visitors and passersby. Its return, following an absence in 2020 due to the pandemic, marks the start of summer in the city, at a time when the population is more in need of warmth and sunshine than ever before.
The public is invited to visit this splendid creation, along with the 24 other works that make up the MMFA’s Sculpture Garden. One of the city’s largest ensembles of public art, it stretches along Du Musée Avenue, Sherbrooke Street West and Bishop Street.
Of note, The Sun was able to remain in Montreal following its presentation in the 2013 exhibition Dale Chihuly – Master of Contemporary Glass, thanks to the generous contribution of J. Sebastian van Berkom and numerous patrons: Marcel and Caroline Elefant, Jacqueline Desmarais, John A. and Phyllis Rae, Sun Life Financial, Polaroid Eyewear, New Look Eyewear and the thousands of Museum visitors and Members who contributed to this acquisition.
