Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for over a decade.

In 1968, Dale Chihuly was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to work at the Venini factory in Venice, Italy. While in Venice, Chihuly observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971 Chihuly co-founded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a studio art. His work is included in over two hundred museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including seven honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Chihuly has created many well-known series of works, among them the Baskets, Persians, and Seaforms, but he is also celebrated for large architectural installations. In 1995 he embarked on the multi-faceted international project, "Chihuly over Venice," which involved working in glass factories in Finland, Ireland and Mexico, with the resultant sculptures installed over the canals and piazze of Venice.

In 1999, Chihuly mounted "Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem". More than one million visitors attended the Tower of David Museum to view his installations. In 2001 the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, curated the exhibition "Chihuly at the V&A", and Chicago's Garlfield Park Conservatory exhibited his work in a botanical garden.

The year 2002 was an important year for Dale Chihuly. He exhibited at the Olympic Arts Festival in the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games. The world-famous "Chihuly Bridge of Glass" in Tacoma, Washington was completed in 2002.

Chihuly exhibited in Vancouver in 2003. The Diane Farris Gallery has since been a prestigious distributor of his Studio Editions, as well as original glass works, books and videos.

In the summer of 2005, Chihuly made waves across the Atlantic with a flamboyant installation at Kew Gardens in London, England. The exhibit, "Chihuly at Kew Gardens 2005", received enormous attention in the press for its exhuberant botanical forms and brilliant colors.

Currently Chihuly is exhibiting another large-scale outdoor body of work at the 79-acre Missouri Botanical Garden. The exhibit opened in April 2006.