A New Dale Chihuly Exhibit Is Coming to Maker's Mark

Sculptor Dale Chihuly has been making eye-catching work for decades, using glass to create art that echoes the landscape around it. A 2022 Smithsonian Magazine article on his art called him “[a] risk-taker, innovator and entrepreneur who thinks big in all aspects of his life and work,” and his sculptures have turned up everywhere from New York City to Venice.

Among the locations where Chihuly’s sculptures have a home is Loretto, Kentucky — the location of Star Hill Farm, home to Maker’s Mark, which recently released a whiskey named for the farm in question. Beginning later this month, the grounds of Star Hill Farm will host an art exhibition, Chihuly x Maker’s Mark at Star Hill Farm, which will run through December 7.

This won’t be the first time Maker’s Mark has hosted an exhibit like this. In 2017, seven Chihuly sculptures were on display at the distillery. One of Chihuly’s works, commissioned by the distillery and titled The Spirit of the Maker, has been on display in the barrel room since 2014.

“I drew a lot of inspiration from the landscape and architecture of the campus, and I’m excited to return with a new exhibition that responds to this special place in new ways,” Chihuly said in a statement announcing the new show.

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Chihuly’s work with Maker’s Mark isn’t the only case of large-scale art and delicious spirits converging. At Art Basel in 2024, curator Stefanie Hessler situated several art exhibitions in existing buildings in Basel — including an installation from the Peruvian artist Ximena Garrido-Lecca inside a local distillery.

“These sculptures are installed inside an artisanal distillery in Basel, creating a beautiful connection between the distillation processes for liquor and oil,” Hess said in an interview with ARTnews. We’ll see if more artists follow the lead of Chihuly and Garrido-Lecca in the future.