List of Dia Art Foundation locations and sites explained

There are twelve locations and sites which the Dia Art Foundation considers part of its constellation of art museums and long-term installations.[1] Dia breaks its holdings into two distinct categories: locations and sites. "Locations" include museum structures that contain galleries of smaller works either on permanent or temporary display, while "sites" are long-term art installations placed outside of the gallery context that have been either commissioned or acquired by Dia. All three locations are found in New York state, while the nine sites are located in New York, New Mexico, Utah, South Carolina, and Germany.[2] Currently one location, Dia SoHo, is scheduled to be opened in 2022,[3] [4] and there are nineteen sites that were once listed by Dia but are no longer listed.

The Dia Art Foundation was established in 1974 in New York City by the not yet married Heiner Friedrich and Schlumberger heiress Philippa de Menil, as well as Helen Winkler. They created the institution to help artists realize ambitious projects whose scale and scope is not feasible within the normal museum and gallery systems.[5] With Friedrich and de Menil's combined large fortune, the foundation began supporting minimalist, conceptual, and land artists with, as Vanity Fair describes in an article, "stipends, studios, assistants, and archivists for the individual museums it planned to build for each of them".[5] Beginning with a collection of warehouse spaces in New York and outdoor spaces in the American West, the foundation did not focus on constructing true museums but focused on singular artistic visions.[6] This approach changed slightly in 1987 with the opening of Dia's first rotating exhibition space, the Dia Center for the Arts, now Dia Chelsea, on 22nd Street in New York City. Dia Beacon, a former Nabisco box factory turned into a large-scale museum for the permanent collection, opened in 2003.

The foundation began by working with and collecting the work of only twelve artists: Joseph Beuys, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Imi Knoebel, Blinky Palermo, Fred Sandback, James Turrell, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Robert Whitman, and La Monte Young.[7] [8] To this day the foundation owns works by less than 50 artists, but contains a breadth and depth of their work in a way other institutions do not have the resources to maintain.[6] Dia Director Jessica Morgan explains the relationship between Dia and its artists as, "I wouldn't use the word 'family', but these are people we're in communication with almost on a weekly basis, and in some cases we hold the vast majority of their seminal work".[6] Known for its focus on American male minimalist, experimental, and land artists from the 1960s and 1970s, Dia's focus has been changing to include other artists from the era, largely women and Japanese artists, since Morgan became curator in 2015.[8] This gradual refocus is markedly seen in the 2018 acquisition of Sun Tunnels by Nancy Holt, Dia's most recent addition to their list of sites.[8]

Locations

Dia maintains three locations all within New York State. These locations present galleries of work, either owned by or loaned to Dia, in temporary or permanent installations.[2] Dia Chelsea, the first Dia location, was known as the Dia Center for the Arts from its opening in 1987 through the opening of Dia Beacon in 2003.[7]

LocationPlacementYear openedDescription
Dia Beacon2003Dia's permanent collection is housed in this former Nabisco box printing factory with each gallery designed for the presentation of a single artist's work. [9]
Dia Bridgehampton1979 building purchased by Dia,
1983 Dan Flavin Art Institute established
2020 renamed
Home of the Dan Flavin Art Institute, nine fluorescent light works by the artist on permanent display, the former fire house and church also has a gallery for rotating exhibitions.[10]
Dia Chelsea1987,
2004 closed,
2015 moved and reopened,
2020 renovation and expansion
A collection of three former industrial buildings, architecturally connected during a 2020 renovation, which now hosts temporary exhibitions.[11] [12]

Sites

Dia lists nine sites in its catalogue. These sites include commissions, land art, long-term art installations not in a gallery context, and site-specific installations. While focused largely in New York City and the American West, there are sites also placed internationally and elsewhere in the United States. The first sites were a trio of acquisitions and commissions by Walter De Maria in 1977 and the most recently collected site is Depreciation by Cameron Rowland, on extended loan since 2023.[2]

SiteArtistPlacementYearYear acquiredDescription
7000 OaksJoseph Beuys1982 begun,
1988 NYC installation,
1996, 2020 expanded
198838 trees each paired with a roughly four foot tall basalt stone.[13]
DepreciationCameron RowlandEdisto Island,
South Carolina
20182023A restrictive covenant for 1 acre of land on the site of the former Maxcy Place plantation. The land was purchased at market value in 2018, but is now appraised at $0 due to the covenant. The land is not to be visited, but documentation is on long term display at Dia Chelsea.[14] [15]
Spiral JettyRobert Smithson19701999A 1500adj=midNaNadj=mid by 16adj=midNaNadj=mid jetty made from six thousand tons of black basalt and soil from the area arranged in spiral.[16]
Sun TunnelsNancy Holt1973-762018Four concrete cylinders, measuring eighteen feet long by nine feet in diameter, sitting in an open cross layout and arranged to line up with the sunset on solstice days.[17]
The Broken KilometerWalter De Maria19791979A grid of 500 polished brass rods, with a total length of 3,280 feet, lying on the floor and illuminated with metal-halide stadium lights. [18]
The Lightning FieldWalter De Maria19771977400 stainless steel poles standing upright to define a horizontal plane over a one mile by one kilometer area.[19]
The New York Earth RoomWalter De Maria19771977A 3,600 square foot room filled with 250 cubic yards of soil to a depth of 22 inches.[20]
The Vertical Earth KilometerWalter De Maria19771977A five centimeter wide, one kilometer long brass rod inserted vertically into the earth with its top flush to the ground.[21]
Times SquareMax Neuhaus1977,
2002 reinstalled
2002Sound emanating from a grate in Times Square on a triangular pedestrian island between 45th and 46th streets.[22]

Former locations and sites

There are multiple Dia locations, sites, or long term installations, that were once listed in Dia publications or press releases but are no longer categorized as such. These sites were not necessarily removed from view, for instance The Dan Flavin Art Institute became part of Dia Bridgehampton[10] and Dan Flavin's Untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection) was moved from Munich, Germany to Dia Beacon.[23] To be included in this list the location or site either is listed in the "Time Line of Locations and Sites" found in the 2021 book An Introduction to Dia's Locations and Sites edited by Kamilah N. Foreman, Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, and Sophia Larigakis, or are mentioned in a Dia press release where the locations and sites of that time are listed.

SiteArtistPlacementYear OpenedYear removed from viewDescription
Untitled in pink, green, and blue fluorescent lightDan FlavinKunstmuseum Basel,
Basel, Switzerland
1975Still on viewThis permanent, outdoor, fluorescent light installation was installed by Dia and gifted to the Kunstmuseum.[24]
Dream FestivalLa Monte Young and Marian ZazeelaNew York City,
New York
19751979Dia gave Young and Zazeela a ten-year commission to produce this festival. presented within Dream House environment, the festival presented the American premier of Young's The Well-Tuned Piano as well as performances by the Theatre of Eternal Music and Pandit Pran Nath.The festival moved to a dedicated Dream House space in 1979 considered a different site.
UntitledDan Flavin19761987For the Whitney Museum of American Art's exhibit 200 years of American Sculpture, Flavin conceived of a long-term fluorescent light installation on a train platform at Grand Central Terminal. The work was beyond the scope of the Whitney exhibition and was instead realized through the support of Dia.
Dia CologneVarious Artists19801983A gallery run by Dia in Cologne, Germany. It presented exhibitions of works by Blinky Palermo, Lucio Fontana, and Imi Knoebel. Donations for Joseph Beuys' 7000 Eichen, presented at documenta 7 in 1982, were coordinated by Dia here.
Dream HouseLa Monte Young and Marian ZazeelaNew York City,
New York
19791985This rendition of Dream House stretched over 6 floors and had more than 20 staff members. Located at the former New York Mercantile Exchange building it closed due to the loss of Dia funding following the 1980s oil glut. Installed in 1979, the installation is not opened to the public until 1981. Dia later helped fund another, smaller, rendition of the work in TriBeCa.[25] [26]
Masjid al-FarahSheikh Muzaffer Ozak,
Dan Flavin
New York City,
New York
19811985A sufi mosque established by Dia and Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes. In 1982, Dia commissioned, and installed throughout the mosque, a series of untitled light works by Dan Flavin.
Fred Sandback MuseumFred Sandback19811996A former bank building housing works by Sanback was opened by Dia in 1981 and closed in 1996 by the artist.[27] [28]
Dia SoHoVarious Artists19821989Originally opened in 1982 by Dia as a long-term exhibition space for paintings by Barnett Newman, the gallery has been rented as a retail space since 1989. Located at 77 Wooster Street, there were plans in place to reopen the building as a 2,500-square-foot gallery for changing exhibitions. Those plans have not yet been achieved.
Chamberlain GardensJohn Chamberlain19821984At Chamberlain's former outdoor studio, Dia maintained a ten-acre garden with installations of his work throughout.
John ChamberlainNew York City,
New York
19821985At Chamberlain's former Tribeca studio, Dia presented rotating exhibitions of his work.
Dan Flavin Art InstituteDan Flavin1979 building purchased by Dia,
1983 Dan Flavin Art Institute established
Still on viewThe Dan Flavin Art Institute, nine works by the artist on permanent display, now constitutes part of Dia Bridgehampton.[29]
155 Mercer StreetVarious artists19861996Space used for programing, particularly rehearsal and performance space for modern choreographers.
Flavin at Chiesa RossaDan Flavin1996Still on viewDia worked with the estate of Dan Flavin and Fondazione Prada to install this fluorescent light workin the church Santa Maria Annunciata in Chiesa Rossa. Flavin died the same year as it was installed.
Beacon PointGeorge TrakasBeacon,
New York
1999 initiated,
2001 site clean-up
2007 artwork inaugurated
Still on viewWater access area designed as an artwork including an angling deck, boardwalk, and bulkhead created in collaboration with Scenic Hudson and Minetta Brook.[30]
Dia at the Hispanic Society of AmericaVarious artists20072011Dia presented a series of rotating commissions at the Hispanic society including works by Francis Alÿs, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, and Koo Jeong A.
Gramsci MonumentThomas Hirschhorn20132013Installed for just one summer at Forest Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development, numerous pavilions were built including an exhibition space, a library, a stage, an art workshop, computer terminals, and a restaurant all managed by local residents.
Puerto Rican Light (Cueva Vientos)Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla20152018The artists placed Puerto Rican Light (to Jeanie Blake), a 1965 fluorescent light sculpture by Dan Flavin, in a cave in the Puerto Rican jungle which can only be accessed by hiking approximately 2 hours to it, and powered it with the use of solar panels.[31] [32]
Rooftop Urban Park Project Dan Graham1981-1991 elements created,
1991 on view as composed whole
2004located on the roof of the Dia:Chelsea galleries, Graham placed a small urban park containing a pavilion created out of one-way glass, named Two-Way Mirror Cylinder Inside Cube, and a shed for viewing video art.[33] [34]
UntitledDan Flavin1996Disappears from Dia press releases between February 7, 2017[35] and February 24, 2017.[36] Flavin's last artwork using fluorescent light, this site-specific installation was in the two stairwells of Dia's former headquarters at 548 West 22nd Street and is no longer on view.[37]
Untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection)Dan Flavin1973Disappears from Dia press releases between May 18, 2015[38] and July 17, 2015.[39] 58 four foot by four foot sculptures made of metal and fluorescent light fixtures. Now installed at Dia Beacon.[40]

Affiliates

Alongside the 12 locations and sites Dia manages, they also maintain relationships with 6 affiliate institutions. Dia collaborated and supported these institutions, either financially or by donating or sharing of artworks, early in each organization's development. One of the affiliates, Roden Crater by James Turrell, while being partially funded and supported by Dia since the 70's, is still not completed.

Site[41] ArtistPlacementYearDescription
Andy Warhol MuseumAndy WarholPittsburgh, Pennsylvania1989 announced,
1994 museum opened
Built in collaboration with the Carnegie Institute and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts as one of the four Carnegie Museums, the museum holds the world's largest collection of art and archival items related to Warhol.[42]
Chinati FoundationVarious1978Began as a collection of works by Donald Judd installed with the help of Dia.[43]
CityMichael HeizerGarden Valley,
Nevada
1972 begun,
2022 opened
A one and a quarter mile long by one quarter of a mile wide land art piece partially funded by Dia.[44] [45]
Cy Twombly GalleryCy TwomblyHouston,
Texas
1994An installation of Twombly's work built in collaboration with the Menil Collection.[46]
Dream HouseLa Monte Young and Marian Zazeela1993A sound and light installation which Dia helped fund the installation of.[47]
Roden CraterJames TurrellPainted Desert,
Arizona
1977 land acquired
not yet completed
A large-scale multi-room installation focused on experiencing light located inside an extinct volcanic Cinder cone funded with support by Dia.[48]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.diaart.org/ Dia
  2. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites Visit Our Locations & Sites
  3. Freeman, Nate. The Dia Art Foundation will expand its Chelsea galleries and launch a new SoHo space. . Artsy. May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  4. https://www.artforum.com/news/admission-to-dia-s-new-york-city-sites-will-soon-be-free-80789 Admission to Dia's New York City Sites Will Soon Be Free
  5. Colacello, Bob. Remains of the Dia . Vanity Fair. April 30, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  6. Goldstein, Andrew. Is It Time for a Land Art Renaissance? Jessica Morgan on Her Ambitious Vision for Dia in New York and Far, Far Beyond . ARTnews. May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  7. Cooke, Lynne and Govan, Michael. Dia Beacon. . Dia Art Foundation. 2003. New York. p. 10-11.
  8. Goldstein, Andrew. ‘There Were Women Working Then, Too’: How Dia Director Jessica Morgan Is Breaking Open the (Male) Canon of Postwar Art . ARTnews. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  9. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/dia-beacon-beacon-united-states Dia Beacon
  10. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/dia-bridgehampton-bridgehampton-united-states Dia Bridgehampton
  11. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/dia-chelsea-new-york-united-states Dia Chelsea
  12. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-reveals-comprehensive-multi-year-plan-to-strengthen-mission-and-revitalize-its-constellation-of-sites-in-new-york/type/text Dia Reveals Comprehensive, Multi-Year Plan to Strengthen Mission And Revitalize its Constellation of Sites in New York
  13. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/joseph-beuys-7000-oaks Joseph Beuys, 7000 Oaks
  14. Web site: Dia Announces Stewardship of Cameron Rowland's Depreciation, 2018 . 2023-05-18 . 2023-05-19 . Dia Art Foundation.
  15. Web site: Cameron Rowland, Depreciation . 2023-05-19 . Dia Art Foundation.
  16. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/robert-smithson-spiral-jetty Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty
  17. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/nancy-holt-sun-tunnels Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels
  18. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/walter-de-maria-the-broken-kilometer-new-york-united-states Walter De Maria, The Broken Kilometer
  19. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/walter-de-maria-the-lightning-field Walter De Maria, The Lightning Field
  20. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/walter-de-maria-the-new-york-earth-room-new-york-united-states Walter De Maria, The New York Earth Room
  21. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/walter-de-maria-the-vertical-earth-kilometer-kassel-germany Walter De Maria, The Vertical Earth Kilometer
  22. https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/max-neuhaus-times-square Max Neuhaus, Times Square
  23. Cascone, Sarah. Dan Flavin Lights Up Dia Beacon With Stunning Subterranean Installation . Artnet. May 10, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  24. An Introduction to Dia's Locations and Sites. Dia Art Foundation. pp. 98-105.
  25. Battaglia, Andy. Celebrating 40 years of La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela's Dream House . Frieze. October 23, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  26. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/gordon-matta-clark-selected-films-and-videos-at-dia-center-for-the-arts/type/text Gordon Matta-Clark: Selected Films and Videos at Dia Center for the Arts
  27. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-changes-name-to-dia-center-for-the-arts/type/text Dia Art Foundation Changes Name to Dia Center for the Arts
  28. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/fred-sandback Fred Sandback
  29. Dia Beacon, Riggio Galleries. floor plan pamphlet. 2017. Dia Art Foundation. rear cover.
  30. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-inaugurates-permanent-waterfront-artwork-by-george-trakas/type/text Dia Art Foundation Inaugurates Permanent Waterfront Artwork by George Trakas
  31. https://www.diaart.org/exhibition/exhibitions-projects/jennifer-allora-and-guillermo-calzadillapuerto-rican-light-cueva-vientos-project Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla: Puerto Rican Light (Cueva Vientos)
  32. Gotthardt, Alexxa. Why a Dan Flavin Work Hidden in a Puerto Rican Cave Makes a Timely Political Statement . Artsy. Jun 5, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  33. https://www.diaart.org/program/past-programs/dan-graham-the-rooftop-urban-park-project-exhibition/year/1991 Dan Graham: The Rooftop Urban Park Project
  34. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-announces-new-web-based-project-by-artist-cecilia-edefalk-195/type/text Dia Art Foundation Announces New Web-based Project by Artist Cecilia Edefalk
  35. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-presents-francois-chaignaud-and-cecilia-bengolea-at-diabeacon/type/text Dia Art Foundation Presents François Chaignaud and Cecilia Bengolea at Dia Beacon
  36. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/courtney-j-martin-to-join-dias-curatorial-department-as-deputy-director-and-chief-curator/type/text Courtney J. Martin to Join Dia's Curatorial Department as Deputy Director and Chief Curator
  37. https://www.diaart.org/collection/collection/flavin-dan-untitled-1996-1996-002 Dan Flavin untitled, 1996
  38. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-appoints-david-morehouse-as-deputy-director-of-advancement/type/text Dia Art Foundation Appoints David Morehouse as Deputy Director of Advancement
  39. https://www.diaart.org/about/press/dia-art-foundation-appoints-david-morehouse-as-deputy-director-of-advancement/type/text Dia Art Foundation Presents Robert Ryman at Dia Chelsea
  40. https://www.diaart.org/collection/collection/flavin-dan-untitled-to-you-heiner-with-admiration-and-affection-1973-2005-007 Dan Flavin untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection), 1973
  41. https://www.diaart.org/about/about-dia About Dia
  42. https://www.warhol.org/museum/ Museum
  43. https://chinati.org/about/mission-history/ Mission and History
  44. Miranda, Carolina A. What's behind the #ProtectCity campaign for artist Michael Heizer . Los Angeles Times. March 24, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  45. Web site: After 50 Years, Michael Heizer's 'City' Opens in Nevada Desert . 2022-08-24 . 2023-05-21 . . Feldman . Ella.
  46. https://www.menil.org/campus/cy-twombly-gallery Cy Twombly Gallery
  47. http://www.melafoundation.org/DHpressFY17.html Dream House
  48. http://rodencrater.com/about/ About