Dale Chihuly was caught up in the excitement of the expanding American Studio Glass movement as early as 1965, and began experimenting with neon and argon in his hand-blown vessels as early as 1967. This neon sculpture, made in the late 1960s, combines the uniqueness of artisan-blown glass with the sinuous line of the draughtsman, blurring the line between art and craft; tradition and experimentation. The use of neon illumination further blurs these increasingly fluid lines, removing both the materiality of the craft object and the literalness of the line drawing.

From the late sixties, Chihuly steadily moved away from the discreet object of the studio glass movement and embraced collaboration, large-scale installation, and experimentation. This work captures a moment in which the sculpture still lies within the vessel form of the artisan tradition, but also embraces experimentation with internal illumination typical of many sculptors in the 1960s.