But at age 64, he’s where he never wanted to be, in court. He’s suing two glass blowers for copyright infringement, contending they’re imitating his work. They’re threatening to sue him back, questioning whether Chihuly is the creative intelligence behind the art bearing his signature. And a former dealer is attacking him with a gusto rare in the art world. If that’s not enough, his feet hurt.
Emotionally, he has been through the wringer.
Since 2001, a significant number of the people closest to him have died, some without warning. Partially because both his brother and father died in quick succession in his teens, he tends to experience each death as a blow to the body.
Last year he sank into a depression from which he is now recovering. Friends who haven’t seen him in many months are being invited over for dinner.
Chihuly’s work lights up the Kohl Center’s entrance – adding color to an emotionless sea of grey.