Glass In Flight
May 16 – November 1
Step into a world of color and wonder with Glass in Flight. This unforgettable exhibition features 30 larger-than-life stained-glass and steel sculptures expertly crafted by artist Alex Heveri. Encounter giant hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, and more as they shimmer in the sunlight, soar overhead, pose in midair, or hide among the blooms. Blending brilliant color, light, and scale, Glass in Flight celebrates these charismatic creatures and their environmental significance. Discover their hidden secrets like never before.
Don’t miss Glass in Flight at golden hour this summer with extended Garden hours on Wednesday and Thursday evenings! This exhibit is included with general admission.
Stay tuned for the Glass in Flight scavenger hunt, sculpture guide, and map.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Alex Heveri is a nationally recognized glass and steel sculptor and a full-time defense attorney based in Tucson, Arizona. For more than 30 years, she has transformed public and private spaces with bold, luminous sculptures crafted from steel and colorful glass.
Her signature stained-glass technique, dalle de verre, is a method originating in France where thick slabs of colored glass are cut and shaped into bold designs and set into place with epoxy. This creates a textured, luminous surface that comes alive in natural light, shifting and glowing as the sun moves across the sky. Over the past five years, Alex has created more than 150 monumental steel-and-glass sculptures, some soaring over 14 feet tall. Each work is conceived, designed, cut, assembled, and welded entirely by Alex in her Tucson home studio.
Her traveling exhibition Glass in Flight has been featured at major botanic gardens across the United States, including Tucson Botanical Gardens, Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, Reiman Gardens, Houston Botanic Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and Flamingo Gardens. She is honored to present the exhibition at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, marking her first exhibition in New England. For this special presentation, Alex has created several never-before-seen works, including a hummingbird archway, two praying mantids, a luna moth, a rosy maple moth, and a magical butterfly tree. Follow Alex on instagram @glassinflight.
My work is inspired by a lifelong fascination with insects, animals, and the natural world. Through steel and dalle de verre glass, I seek to capture the vitality, brilliance, and movement of pollinators and other creatures that sustain life on our planet.
I am drawn to dalle de verre for its intensity and depth. As sunlight moves across each sculpture, the glass shifts and sparkles, echoing the energy and fleeting beauty of the living subjects I depict. Scale is also essential to my work—by enlarging these creatures beyond life size, I invite viewers to pause, look closely, and rediscover the wonder in forms that are often overlooked.
With Glass in Flight, I hope to create moments of surprise and delight within the Garden’s landscape. My sculptures are meant to enhance the experience of walking through nature—to celebrate color, light, and the essential role pollinators play in the world around us.
Join us for guided tours for Glass In Flight!
Tours begin May 16 and end October 31, 2026.
Guided Walking Tour | Dates coming soon.
Learn about the history of the Garden, get introduced to our favorite seasonal blooms, and learn more about our summer exhibition, Glass in Flight.
*Included with admission
Guided Golf Cart Tour | Dates coming soon.
Join us for a guided golf cart tour of Glass in Flight, a terrific way for those with limited mobility to experience the exhibition in full.
*Included with admission
*Included with admission
Coming soon.
Insect Lab | Ages 4-8
Sunday, June 14, 1–2:30 PM | Stay tuned for registration.
Join us for an insect safari and create your own bug hotel to welcome pollinators to your yard.
M: $18 CHILD, $0 ADULT; NM: $26 CHILD, $20 ADULT
Family Firefly Walk | Ages 3-14
Thursday, June 18 & 25 and July 2, 8–9 PM | Stay tuned for registration.
Explore the gardens and trails by moonlight and search for our favorite nocturnal insect.
M: $9 CHILD, $6 ADULT; NM: $18 CHILD, $26 ADULT
Firefly Lanterns | Ages 8-12
Saturday, June 27, 10:30 AM–12 PM | Stay tuned for registration.
Make a glowing firefly lantern and learn about the life and light of these fascinating insects.
M: $22 CHILD, $0 ADULT; NM: $30 CHILD, $20 ADULT
This exhibit is generously sponsored in part by
BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLASS IN FLIGHT
FAQs
Glass in Flight will be displayed from May 16 through November 1, 2026. Visitors can experience the exhibition during our daytime hours Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and during special extended hours on Wednesday and Thursday evenings this summer. We recommend visiting multiple times to experience how each sculpture changes through the seasons.
The sculptures are made of steel and dalle de verre glass. Each piece of glass is hand–cut and welded into place by artist Alex Heveri. Dalle de verre is a French term meaning “glass slab” and refers to a stained-glass technique that uses thick slabs of colored glass, cut and shaped into bold designs. Unlike traditional stained-glass that uses lead or copper to connect pieces of glass, dalle de verre is set in concrete, resin, or epoxy which produces a textured, luminous surface that refracts light.
While we encourage taking photos with the work, we ask that visitors please do not touch or climb on the sculptures.
Yes, many of the sculptures displayed in Glass in Flight are available for purchase. Please contact exhibitions@nebg.org for details and pricing.
Glass in Flight includes 30 displays, many of which feature more than one glass sculpture.
Glass in Flight sculptures are displayed in or are visible from our formal gardens. Stay tuned for the map.