President Halimah Yacob and Tanoto Foundation Unveil Dale Chihuly’s Ethereal White Persians Sculpture at Gardens by the Bay

Written by Tanoto Foundation

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 4 April 2022 -President Halimah Yacob and Member of the Board of Trustees at Tanoto Foundation Anderson Tanoto unveiled American artist Dale Chihuly's Ethereal White Persians sculpture at Gardens by the Bay's (the Gardens) Cloud Forest. The unveiling took place in the presence of Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee, on Saturday (2 April 2022).

President Halimah Yacob and Tanoto Foundation's Anderson Tanoto at the unveiling of the sculpture in Cloud Forest. Also present were Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee (extreme left), and Board Member of Gardens by the Bay, Mr John Tan (extreme right).

Independent philanthropic organisation Tanoto Foundation founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto commissioned the internationally-renowned blown-glass art piece to commemorate the Gardens' 10^th anniversary. The spectacular Ethereal White Persians will be a permanent installation, suspended over the water, atop the Cloud Forest Mountain.

A blown-glass masterpiece, each element of Ethereal White Persians is unique and bears its own signature due to Dale Chihuly's production technique of utilising gravity and centrifugal force to let molten glass find its shape in its own organic way.

Anderson Tanoto, Member of the Board of Trustees, Tanoto Foundation, said, "We are honoured to have President Halimah Yacob and Minister Desmond Lee with us to unveil the new sculpture. Tanoto Foundation's work has been driven by our mission to provide equal opportunities to the community, mainly through education, medical research and youth leadership. Similarly, we believe access to internationally-renowned art, such as Dale Chihuly's Ethereal White Persians, should be for all in Singapore to enjoy. We are thankful to be collaborating with a like-minded partner, Gardens by the Bay, which shares similar values in terms of availing accessibility and fulfilling our roles as social-levelers in Singapore."

The decision to make Ethereal White Persians a permanent feature was influenced by the overwhelming response to Chihuly's Glass in Bloom exhibition, which was held in Singapore last year at the Gardens. With this permanent art sculpture at the Cloud Forest, Singaporeans can now experience one of Dale Chihuly's most famous art pieces anytime.

Anderson added, "At nine feet tall and an assembly of 97 individual glass pieces, the Ethereal White Persians by Dale Chihuly is awe-inspiring. It is also a vision of hope, a testament to human resilience and perseverance. He has stayed true to his pursuit of pushing something as fragile as glass to new forms, creating ambitious and stunning installations in prominent landmarks across the globe. The Persian series is a culmination of a year's experimentation by Dale Chihuly – it signifies perseverance, the pursuit of excellence, and reflects the positive spirit of constantly pushing boundaries to open new horizons. We hope this art piece can inspire many Singaporeans."

Leslie Chihuly, President & CEO, Chihuly Studio, said, "Last year, we had the incredible opportunity of mounting Dale's first major garden exhibition in Asia, at Gardens by the Bay. We are honoured that this installation will remain in the Gardens for all to enjoy, and we are grateful to the Tanoto Foundation for making this possible."

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