SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Dan Dailey has completed the installation of a custom blown glass illuminated sculpture in a Scottsdale Arizona home. The private commission, titled Bar Scene, is a culmination of Dailey’s popular Individuals series.
The ten-foot-long glass and stainless steel sculpture illuminates itself and the bar, activating a two-story space in the stylish home cantina. Nine reveling figures are depicted, resembling personalities from Dailey’s Individuals series (2004-ongoing)— 129 colorful, life-sized portraits of the human spirit in all walks-of-life. Bar Scene is the only piece to date that depicts multiple Dan Dailey "Individuals” together as a group.
Dailey says his client’s interest in the Individuals series led to the idea for a ‘bar scene’ with multiple characters interacting. “The uplighting accentuates their gestures and facial expressions, while the steel cloud supporting the sculpture allows for downlighting to the bar surface,” he said. “The entire piece becomes, in effect, a kind of chandelier.”
“My narrative and illustrative approach to the piece sets a mood in this space that I feel determines some of the character in this part of the house,” Dailey added. “As contemporary and dramatic as the architecture is, some basic human sensibilities are expressed in the sculpture.”
The project took three years to complete, and was delayed for eight months due to the pandemic. This work is the most recent of more than 70 architectural commissions Dailey has completed since 1971.