Hurricane Florence: Can Chihuly exhibit at Asheville's Biltmore Estate withstand storm?

Asheville Citizen Times

ASHEVILLE - Hurricane Florence is approaching, and Biltmore Estate is home — for a few more weeks — to dozens of pieces of glasswork around its grounds, an exhibit by artist Dale Chihuly.

What is the estate doing to protect it?

Biltmore was not offering an enormous amount of detail about the pieces, but spokeswoman LeeAnn Donnelly did sound confident the Chihuly glasswork sprinkled through the estate's formal gardens will be safe.

More:Hurricane Florence: What we know about forecast and projected path of the storm

A display of blown glass titled Cattails and Copper Birch Reeds in front of the conservatory at the Biltmore estate which is part of the Chihuly at Biltmore exhibition of a collection of Dale Chihuly's work.

"About the Chihuly exhibition, we have done our due diligence to protect the pieces," she said Tuesday. "For example, we have ensured that there are no tree limbs hanging over the pieces. We are making every effort to protect our guests, employees, and whatever we can do to preserve Biltmore."

Earlier this summer, Donnelly responded to concerns about the ability of the art to survive a hailstorm, checking in with Chihuly's public relations folks.

"The pieces are really glass, and are built to withstand the forces of nature," Donnelly said. "The Chihuly team has procedures for replacing elements on the rare occasions of damage."

The exhibition at Biltmore runs through Oct. 7.